Finance & Career

Alabama Extension Job Success Program

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The Alabama Extension Job Success Program is designed to improve the basic soft skills of current and prospective employees. Topics include self-management, decision-making, time management, communication, and teamwork.

Extension agents will work directly with local business and industry partners to deliver this program in four 60-minute sessions or one 4- to 5-hour session. Program elements can easily be customized to meet the specific needs of interested business partners to ensure instruction aligns with desired employee attributes. Additional programs related to pre-employment soft skills are also available.

Curriculum Overview

Module 1: Self-Management

  • Meeting Employer Expectations
    • 5 Must-Have Qualities to Get and Keep a Job
      • Reliable
      • Substance Free
      • Positive Attitude
      • Team Player
      • Follow Instructions and Rules

Module 2: Decision-Making and Time Management

  • Decision-Making for Success
    • POCS Method
      • Problem
      • Options
      • Consequences
      • Solutions
  • Time Management
    • Strategies for Time Management
      • Make a list.
      • Do first things first.
      • Concentrate on individual tasks until they are completed.
      • Eliminate time robbers.
      • Save time for unexpected circumstances.
      • Learn to say no.

Module 3: Workplace Communication

  • Establishing the basics
    • Sending the message
    • Body language
    • Listening
  • Communicating appropriately at work

Module 4: Team Success

  • Defining a Team
  • Understanding and Valuing Diversity
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Customer Service

The curriculum can be customized to reflect the needs and workplace policies of employers for whom these prospective employees currently work or would like to gain employment.

Program Delivery

The Job Success Program is designed to be delivered simply. Basic instruction is offered with active learning techniques designed to reinforce learning. The program can be delivered by module or by components within each module. Each module session lasts between 45 and 60 minutes.

Assessment and Evaluation

Program participants will be asked to complete pre- and post-module evaluations to help program leaders learn more about their participants and gain a complete understanding of their learning. The Job Success Program is a pilot project meaning that Alabama Extension will deliver the program to constantly explore opportunities for improvement through review of evaluation data as we roll out the initial phase.

The pilot phase approach benefits employers because educators and employers can keep a pulse on program performance and participant learning in real time and make adjustments as necessary. We can also leverage internal human resources data from employers, temporary employment agencies, and participants to determine the long-term impacts of the program on participant performance and employment status.

 

Matt Ulmer, Extension Specialist, Community Workforce, Leadership, and Economic Development, Auburn University

Reviewed September 2022, Alabama Extension Job Success Program, ACES-2618

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