Subjective Ethnographic Protocol for Work Activity Analysis and Occupational Training Improvement

The renewal of the staff in companies, with no possibilities sometimes for the newcomers to meet experienced workers already retired, is considered by some analysts as a “skills drain”. In such a context, improving the occupational training program is a crucial challenge for any company concerned by this social phenomenon.

The method presented here aims at providing an in-depth analysis of what makes the competencies of experience workers in order to provide more exhaustive input data for training. This might contribute to lessen the aforementioned problem. It uses subjective video recordings of work activities and applies co-analysis (researcher-worker) based on the Square of Perceived Action model developed for the purpose in the frame of Activity Theory.

The Square of Perceived Action-based method showed a better efficiency when compared with three other methods for four different activities. It also showed a good acceptance by the professionals who felt an improvement of their vocational practices after having being involved in such an analysis of their work activity.