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Employee CommitmentPaul Banas, manager of employeedevelopment and planning at Ford MotorCompany, notes that “Employee commitment... is the bedrock of all corporate strategies”and that corporations’ “plans for the futurewill succeed or fail depending on how wellthe total employee team responds tothem’’[1]. The real key to whetherorganizations will be successful in the futurewill depend on whether these employees’managers can learn how to obtain thisemployee commitment. Earlier, weunderscored the importance of obtainingcommitment through employee involvement.There is also another means of securingemployee commitment.

Paul Banas of Ford, stresses that:

There also is great value in providingemployees with meaningful opportunities forprofessional and personal development. It isthe natural complement to employeecooperation and commitment. The moresophisticated, the more knowledgeable, and themore capable the members of the team are, the

more they can contribute. A better educatedand developed workforce is vital not only to anemployee’s future but is critical for our nationas well. Life-long learning will be arequirement for every employee[1].

A considerable amount of Ford’s success restson the fact that the company has been able toobtain both greater employee commitmentand more capable managers and employeesthrough its development process. The UAW-Ford Employee Development and TrainingProgram (EDTP), as well as Ford’s ownmanagerial development process, have gonehand-in-hand to help create a more effectiveorganization. Together, these two activitieshave provided the key ingredient to Ford’smore participative culture and its revitalizedglobal competitiveness. First, we will look atits joint educational and training efforts.

Joint Employee Development andTrainingFord Motor Company and its union, theUnited Auto Workers (UAW), havedeveloped a unique and comprehensiveapproach to employee training anddevelopment. In 1982, Ford and UAW

Empowerment throughEmployee Involvement and

ParticipationFord’s Development and Training Programs

D. Keith Denton

Empowerment in Organizations, Vol. 2 No. 2, 1994, pp. 22-28© MCB University Press, 0968-4891

created the first-ever, private- sector, jointlyadministered employee development andtraining program. Today it applies both toactive and laid-off employees.

The program was initially created in 1982through union negotiation whenapproximately one-half of its peak workforcewas laid off owing to poor economicconditions. UAW and Ford’s initial programwas designed to help these laid-off employeesto reorganize their lives and start new careers.In response to this economic crisis, initialactivities of the program included sponsoringcareer day conferences, vocational planningand interest surveys, career counselling,prepaid tuition assistance, vocationalretraining, and job search training.

From its inception, the EDTP was designedto be administered jointly by managementand the union. Today the governing board ofthe EDTP consists of an equal number ofFord’s labor relations staff and the UAW. Thejoint governing board sets all policies andapproves program expenditures. Co-ordination and central administration of theEDTP occurs at the Joint NationalDevelopment and Training Center, located onthe campus of Henry Ford CommunityCollege in Dearborn, Michigan. It is staffedboth with union and company representatives,as well as outside professionals. The center isfunded by a company contribution of fivecents per hour worked and offers 17 distinctprograms, which are based on a survey ofemployees’ needs and wants.

The EDTP training center is the centralorganization, but it is not the only placewhere the EDTP is administered. Each ofFord’s geographically diverse plants also hasits own EDTP committee. These committeesimplement employee development activitiesthat meet each location’s unique needs, aswell as distribute information and directivesfrom the Joint National Development andTraining Center.

However significant this EDTParrangement is in developing employees,Ford stresses that the EDTP is not a“standalone” program. It is only one of itsprograms for improving its competitivenessthrough employee involvement andenhancement.

Ford currently operates development andtraining to provide life-long learning. Itbegins with recruitment and selection andcontinues through to retirement. Specifically,Ford concentrates on five basic tracks. Theseeducational track goals focus on:● core company values, policies, practices,

and guidelines;● general business, technical, and strategic

skills;● professional/functional knowledge and

skills;● community, governmental, and societal

involvement and knowledge;● individually motivated personal

development[2].

These strategic goals are implementedthrough a variety of specific programs forhourly paid, salaried, and managerialpersonnel.

UAW-Ford’s EDTPThe EDTP is one of the ways in which Fordimplements its employee and developmentgoals. As already noted, it was created in1982. It has since been updated andenhanced. Today, as it was in the beginning,the EDTP remains jointly administered. BothUAW and Ford equally share responsibilityfor running the program.

The EDTP also remains voluntary innature. At its inception, it was decided thatthe program would focus on individual choiceinstead of forcing participation throughcorporate directives. Rather than force-feedthe process, it was decided to make

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participation by local unions, plant officials,and employees a voluntary option.

Ford also wanted to make sure that itsdevelopment activities would be able torespond to future as well as current needs,and that the program would be able torespond to local needs.

The focus was on flexibility and on makingtraining, educational, and employeedevelopment a comprehensive system thatsatisfied both active and laid-off employeeneeds and desires. With these objectives inmind, the National Center sponsors employeeassistance programs designed to helpemployees to solve personal problems. Thecenter also supports health and safetyactivities, employee involvement education,product quality activities and even providesreferral services that help employees toidentify and select the best child-care options.Specialized programs at the center exist forunion leadership and Ford plant management.

Local InvolvementThe impressive joint educational effortssponsored through their corporate center areaugmented with local programs. Fordrecognized that every local facility mighthave different needs, so it established jointlocal employee development and trainingprogram committees. Today it has 500representatives on these committees. Eachcommittee is composed of an equal numberof both union and management personnel.The Joint National Development and TrainingCenter assists these local employeedevelopment committees in identifying theneeds of their employees, obtaining necessaryresources to conduct their program, andevaluating the results of those local efforts.

Activities for Laid-off EmployeesWhen Ford and the UAW established theirjoint effort in 1982, the automobile industry

was in the middle of a recession. Because ofthe recession, a number of employees hadbeen laid off. The EDTP’s early developmentactivities focussed on helping these laid-offemployees. At that time, there was a seriousneed for retraining. To that end, the EDTPestablished the Career Services and Re-employment Assistance Center.

The center was set up, when needed, toprovide employees with assistance when Fordwas forced to close a facility. In addition tospecial assistance at plant closings andrelocation help, the center also provided awide range of other assistance. This includedsuch things as career day conferences, careercounselling, vocational interest surveys, andjob search skills.

Vocational retraining and prepaid tuition(the first of its kind for laid-off employees)was also part of the services. Prepaid tuitionmade it possible for laid-off employees toreturn to school on their own. These centersprovided comprehensive, one-stop placementand training services. Employees choose theirown courses and, depending on their years ofseniority at the time of the lay-off, could haveup to $5,500 in prepaid tuition assistance.

Programs for Active EmployeesSince those early times, Ford and itsemployee fortunes have turned around. Fordis in the middle of profitable times and thenumber of laid-off employees using theEDTP’s national center has declined. Fordand the UAW have now refocussed theirefforts and developed activities for theiractive employees. This process is referred toas their avenues of employee growth.

Each of the options within the avenues ofemployee growth is a choice which eachactive employee can take toward his/her owngrowth and development. This life andeducational planning process consists of fiveseparate options. These options include:

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● prepaid tuition assistance;

● college and university options;

● basic skills enhancement;

● targeted education, training, or counseling;

● successful retirement planning.

All of these options are designed to enhanceemployees’ professional growth anddevelopment as well as improve theirpersonal life. This comprehensive educationalplanning for employees also includes the useof professional life education advisors. Theseadvisors offer advice, referral, and support toemployees. They also have workshops thathelp employees to explore developmentopportunities. In the few short years of theprogram’s operation, they have counseledmore than 12,000 employees. Advice andworkshops are designed to assess a variety ofissues about an employee’s life and identifymethods and resources to help them achievepersonal and career goals.

The prepaid tuition assistance planningoption allows employees a wide variety oftraining and development courses. Employeeshave an opportunity to go back to school byproviding tuition assistance. Employees canreceive prepayment of tuition or other fees upto a maximum of $2,000 per year for creditand degree courses that are selected byemployees and approved by management.This particular option can also involveemployees taking on-site, non-credit, andnon-degree courses at Ford facilities. Thesecourses are designed to improve anemployee’s growth and development. Thisincludes courses on communication skills,motivation training, time management, andother areas.

The second avenue of the growth programis the college and university option. It isdesigned to make degree, as well as non-degree programs more accessible toemployees. It includes the following keyingredients:

● a workshop;

● partnership with local educationalinstitutions;

● transfer of credits among partnerinstitutions;

● on-site registration and courses atconvenient times;

● credits for college-level knowledge andskills gained outside the collegeclassroom.

Over 120 colleges and universities havebecome partners with the national centers. Inaddition, over 50 Ford locations have had on-site classes and 8,000 participants.

Another innovative option offered is thebasic skills enhancement program. Thisprogram, like some of the other options, wasthe first of its kind in the USA. The purposeis to help employees to gain bettersatisfaction by helping them to upgrade theireducation and learn new skills. This programis available for displaced, as well as activeemployees.

The basic skills enhancement option itselfconsists of six separate programs. Each ofthese six programs is designed to helpemployees to upgrade their education or helpthem to improve basic skills (e.g. math,languages, communication, etc.). The hope isthat such activities will enhance employeeself-esteem, self-confidence, and performanceboth on and off the job.

Employees receive individualizedinstruction with an open entry/open exitformat. Employees decide when to start, stop,or resume their studies. It is competence-based thus encouraging employees to begin atthe level at which they feel comfortable.Educational institutions near local Fordfacilities normally supply the teachers andadvice, while the UAW-Ford corporatetraining center provides supplementaryeducational services.

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One of the six programs within the basicskills enhancement option includes skillsbuilding. In this program employees canmaster skills in reading, writing, andmathematics. Employees also have a chanceto receive a high school diploma through thisprogram. If employees choose this approach,their transcripts are reviewed and courses ofstudy are identified to help them to secure adiploma.

An alternative is the general educationdevelopment (GED). Instead of takingseparate classes needed to receive their highschool degree, employees can instead chooseto receive instruction that helps them toprepare for this high school equivalenceexam. Once employees pass this exam, theyoften use it to help to fulfill college entrancerequirements.

Other employees may not wish to pursueformal studies; instead, they may simply wantto improve their skills in mathematics,reading, writing, and science. As such, theeducational enrichment program under thebasic skills enhancement umbrella offersassistance, training, and college courses onvarious subjects.

One of the more interesting employeedevelopment programs is English as a secondlanguage. This course has proved to be verybeneficial to some Ford employees whosometimes can read, write, and speak better ina language other than English. This programprovides these people with an opportunity tolearn English.

The last program within the basic skillsenhancement option is that of academicadvising services. This particular program isused in conjunction with the other fiveprograms within the basic skills enhancementoption. The purpose is to provide one-on-oneadvice. Through assessment and consultation,they aim to develop educational plansdesigned to meet individual employees’ needsand desires.

Planning and Implementing Basic SkillsEnhancementFord goes through extensive planning andpreparation before implementing its basicskills enhancement program. The first step isto assess needs. The process begins when alocal Ford facility contacts the EDTP’snational headquarters. The headquarters’purpose is to help local facilities to organizetheir own educational and employeedevelopment programs. As part of thisprocess, employees are surveyed to determinelocal employees’ needs and desires.

After these survey results have beenanalyzed, local educational organizations arecontacted to see how best to provide neededservices. A wide variety of organizations maybecome involved in the process, includingpublic schools, universities, state adulteducational programs, and consultants. Thenext step is where specific programs aredesigned for local facilities. At this stage, thetop priority is to identify participants,services, educational procedures, andbudgetary concerns. The last step involvesactually developing a proposal that ispresented to the national headquarters.

Once the proposal has been approved, localfacilities are then ready to implement it. Thisinvolves recruitment and registeringparticipants through a variety of meansincluding word of mouth, brochures,bulletins, and other media. Ford begins itsprograms by interviewing, testing, andassessing attitudes, interests, and instructionallevels. If possible, self-paced learning is used.Progress is monitored and advice is providedfor employees. Records are maintained, andthe results of these educational activities areshared between the local and nationalorganizations.

The fourth option available within theavenues of growth is the targeted education,training, or counseling projects option. Thisoption revolves around selecting educationalprojects that fit the educational and training

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needs of specific locations and particularsegments of the workforce. The program isseen as a supplement to the other options andas a means of conducting pilot projects. Thesepilots involve educational, training, oremployee development activities where littleexperience exists. Past pilot projects haveranged from experiments with developingcomputer awareness to understanding smallengine repair.

The last avenue of growth is successfulretirement planning. As the name implies, itis designed to help employees and theirspouses to prepare for retirement. Programactivities are usually offered at plant facilitiesor in their union hall. Training is conductedboth by union and company representatives.Subjects range from discussions of insuranceand pension benefits, financial and estateplanning, time utilization, travel andrecreation, to health and fitness information.

Salaried Employee and ManagementProgramsFord’s educational and development activitiesdo not stop simply with programs for hourlypaid employees. They also includecomplementary educational activities for theprofessional and technical workforce. In fact,the educational and training catalog forsalaried employees contains more than 300programs. These programs cover a widevariety of courses including those on robotics,statistical methods, production engineering,performance management, career assessment,and team-oriented problem solving[2]. All ofthese activities are in addition to the day-to-day, on-the-job training.

Ford also provides managementdevelopment at its Executive DevelopmentCenter. The center is designed to improve themanagement skills of its senior executives.Programs are designed to help these managersto develop a better understanding of thebusiness. The first program consisted of a

five-and-a-half day seminar designed to helpmanagers deal with economic, technological,and human relations factors. Interactionamong different management functions, aswell as interaction with different countriesand management levels, is encouraged.

SummaryFord and the UAW’s joint training wascreated because of economic and competitivefactors. It was felt that this program was oneof the key ingredients to Ford’s globalcompetitiveness. At the heart of this trainingis an emphasis on changing its corporateculture. Ford felt that it needed greateremployee involvement and a moreparticipative style of management if it wasgoing to be able to be compete.

Most of those at Ford would probablyagree that the process of developingemployee involvement and creating a moreparticipative management style is becomingmore common. They recognize, however, thatemployee as well as managementdevelopment and education is at the heart ofFord’s ability to improve continuously.Development activities certainly are at theheart of current efforts to reshape thecompany’s corporate culture.

Ford and its union have recognized thateverything is connected to everything else.Taking a systems approach recognizes thatwhen one change (employee developmentand choice) occurs, other beneficial changescan occur (employee involvement, teamwork,etc.). System thinking, which is now part ofthe executive training programs, involvestreating business as a network ofinterdependent processes. Ford incorporatesthis systems approach within its path towardparticipative management and employeeinvolvement and development.

The educational and developmentalactivities are successful because they have

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built a large number of voluntary choices andvoluntary agendas within the process. Fordbelieves that this aspect of its developmentprocess is essential, since employees will feela greater sense of responsibility andownership if they have a role in their owneducational and developmental efforts.

Ford’s educational efforts also demonstratethe importance placed on flexibility. Fordrecognizes that often tomorrow’s needs aredifferent from today’s needs and has ensuredthe program’s survival through companyfunding. At Ford, five cents for every hourworked goes into a fund that is used tosupport their educational efforts. This moneyis available for local activities even if initialup-front money is not available.

Another unique aspect of Ford’sdevelopment activities is the fact that thecompany downplays the significance ofpurely quantifiable factors. It says that it isimportant that educational and developmentefforts have the right to fail – that even failurecan be an achievement. Such an attitude helpsto encourage innovation and experimentationthat in turn keeps Ford’s developmentalefforts at the cutting edge.

Joint employee educational anddevelopmental efforts, like those of Ford, canbe a powerful productivity- and quality-enhancing tool, but their success depends on

both management and labor accepting co-responsibility. Each has to understand andaccept the legitimacy of the other. Finally,success of this or any development effortsdepends on continuing experimentation.There is no single best approach, and there isno failure where effort exists.

n

References1. Banas, P.A., “Ford’s Transformation: The

Role of Employee Involvement andParticipative Management”, 26th IRCSymposium on Advanced Research inIndustrial Relations, 18 August, 1988, pp. 14-16.

2. Banas, P.A., “Worker Retraining: NewSkills and Careers”, Ford’s ExecutiveStudy Conference, 2-4 December 1987,pp. 3-18.

D. Keith Denton is Professor at SouthwestMissouri State University, Springfield,Missouri, USA.