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Research Shows Training Program Improved On-farm Competencies, Employee Engagement, and Safety

Third-party research from a large integrator is showing a 30 percentage point increase in on-farm competency scores after one year of use of Pork Avenue. Pork Avenue Training Portal is a unique educational tool for the pork industry based on the science of how adults learn.

"Pork Avenue has been the best thing that has happened to our training program in 15 years. It has been a huge step forward."

Manager, Hog Production Training
Integrated System

Pork Avenue made a difference.

Results Of
Third-Party,
On-Farm Research
30 percentage point improvement for on-farm competency scores

“As a company, we want to sustainably raise the good in food and we want our employees to believe this as well so they feel good about their chosen career. Investing in training like Pork Avenue is a critical part of this goal. Pork Avenue has been the best thing that has happened to our training program in 15 years. It has been a huge step forward,” says a Manager of Hog Production Training at a large integrated system.

"When we measured our old SOP based program where we expected managers to train on farm, we only saw competencies in the mid to upper 50’s,” he reports. “After we implemented Pork Avenue, we saw competencies increase 30 percentage points to the mid to upper 80’s.”

“In addition we anticipate an improvement in engagement scores from the feedback from the employees on the program,” he adds. “This is a trend we are excited about and will continue to monitor.” Gallup defines engaged employees as “those who are involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace."

Research shows that businesses with higher engagement scores are on average 18% more productive, 12% more profitable, and experience a 62% reduction in work related accidents. More engaged employees also have 27% lower absenteeism and are 31% less likely to leave the organization. “Gallup's employee engagement work is based on more than 30 years of in-depth behavioral economic research involving more than 17 million employees.”

He adds, “I love that Pork Avenue incorporates the safety aspect of the training throughout, which supports our extremely strong safety culture and training already in place. Over the past 6 months we’ve had ZERO on farm injuries. This is an excellent trend.”

Unique Implementation Plan

To drive these results, this hog training manager created a 26-week orientation curriculum choosing 40 of the 120 learning experiences on Pork Avenue. He designated and trained 2 service people on how to do the in-barn verification of competencies along with himself. Lessons were assigned and when completed, the service people trained to verify skills went to the barn and made sure employees knew how to physically do the task in a safe manner and verify employee understanding of the why behind the process. “We wanted people outside of the farms to verify competencies. Managers are often anxious to get people moving on tasks. The 3^rd party eye, helped us make sure the employee was truly ready and drives consistency in the training. Each employee over the 26 weeks, received 6 hours of one on one verification with a verification service person.” This time investment alongside Pork Avenue is impacting change.

What is Pork Avenue?

Pork Avenue features over 100 interactive learning experiences driven by online learning management software. In 2016, it was voted one of the best new products of the year at World Pork Expo. For more information about subscriptions to Pork Avenue, contact sales@porkavenuetraining.com.

OUR MISSION: We work to improve animal and human wellbeing on farm on a global basis by creating and distributing impactful learning experiences. We strive to create educational materials that reach the audience in a way that inspires action, dependability, and trust. We will be an integral part of providing safe food to nourish people.