IntegratedBusiness

Services

Self-Assessment

Description: a self-assessment to help states and regions drill down deep into how integrated their business services are, and where enhancements can be made.

Introduction

Most communities understand the importance of providing a more coordinated set of talent development solutions for their business. Yet so many still struggle with effectively integrating business services across workforce, education, and economic development. As a result, we’re still approaching businesses and their talent needs in silos and we’re still only reaching a small share of businesses. As states and local areas continue to address this challenge, we must ask ourselves: How can we, as talent development organizations, change what we do to effectively respond collaboratively to regional demand?

Directions:

1. Work as a team to complete the self-assessment prior to February 22nd’s Cohort Session. For each of the factors in the sections that follow, please select a rating from 1-5 that reflects your/your team’s perspective on where your region stands. Each team member may choose to complete the assessment individually and then convene to compare answers. Or, you may decide to complete it as a team together.

2. Please leave plenty of time to engage in an honest discussion about each indicator (bulleted statements on the left), and to provide thoughtful strategies for addressing challenges (the box on the right to write your notes).

3. Be ready to share your findings on February 22nd!

NOTE: if you are representing a state you might decide to take this assessment from the perspective of: are you providing the support/guidance needed for your local and regional areas to succeed in the following indicators.

4.

Integrated Business Services Self-Assessment

VISION Notes & Overall Rating (see key below)

A state/regional vision exists for coordinated and aligned business engagement/services

The vision is inclusive of all partners that play a role in the regional talent pipeline from economic development, education, and workforce development; to key system partners including (but not limited to) entities such as TANF, vocational rehabilitation and veteran’s services

The notion of shared business client ownership and accountability is institutionalized across agencies/programs

① ② ③ ④ ⑤ Where/How could this be strengthened? RATE: EXPLAIN HERE:

Rate: 4Vision Statement: Empowering Business to Build a Sustainable

Workforce through collaborative partnerships

We purposely went through a formal charter process to develop a shared vision and direction from the beginning, but…

We are purposely inclusive and always adding new members, but we do not have a formal onboarding process to ensure all new members have that shared vision.

We’ve been a partnership for a little over a year and we’ve added so many new members and organizations that we are now due for another strategic planning session to ensure we all still have that collective vision and end goal.

We still could add some new strategic partnerships like community jobs

Overall Ratings: Fill in the bubbles that best describe your level of partnership, 1 – 5. ❶ = “Not at all” | ❺ = “We’re high-flying”

Integrated Business Services Self-Assessment

DEMAND PLANNING Notes & Overall Rating (see key below)

We have access to quality regionalized labor market information (LMI)

We have a clear understanding of the region’s overall business and economic climate, including key industries, business lifecycles, workforce trends and needs

Partners use shared LMI data as they approach and work with business—there is consensus among partners on key target industries, critical occupations, etc.

Business intelligence (e.g. tracking business engagement activity) is managed across partners through a Customer Relationship Management (or related) system; and partners have access to this information.

Business outreach representatives (across partners) share intelligence and coordinate and strategize follow-up. May include an organized business services team comprised of knowledgeable partners with ability to connect businesses to a full range of partner services (even those that may not be workforce-specific)

① ② ③ ④ ⑤ Where/How could this be strengthened? RATE: EXPLAIN HERE:

Rate: 3 We are blessed to have a local labor market economist on our team.

So we have great access to current labor market data and have scheduled quarterly labor market presentations to keep us informed

We have a good understanding of our key industries. We host regular industry sector roundtables and focus groups to keep up informed on current labor and training challenges our local businesses are facing.

Now we are in the process of identifying targeted industry clusters. One of the challenges we face is with numerous organizations involved and multiple vested community constituents, is coming up with a select shared industry sector focus. Everyone has their own list of targeted industries.

We need to establish a collective CRM to allow us to work more effectively across systems. A challenge we face being from multiple organizations spread throughout our county is that we currently use multiple software products to conduct and track our work. We would be much more effective and efficient with a shared tool.

Need to work in a more strategically and in a coordinated effort Need for another round of Asset Inventory, so we better understand

what everyone else offers We need an onboarding method, to help new members understand our

consortium, what we provide and how to best leverage each otherseach other’s strengths.

Need to capture and post minutes Establish an Advisory board that includes LMEA Economist, Economic

Development, Business Representatives, and key Community Leaders

Overall Ratings: Fill in the bubbles that best describe your level of partnership, 1 – 5. ❶ = “Not at all” | ❺ = “We’re high-flying”

Integrated Business Services Self-Assessment

ENGAGING WITH BUSINESSES & DELIVERING SOLUTIONS Notes & Overall Rating (see key below)

Coordination planning across partners occurs regularly. Roles and responsibilities, as it relates to business engagement and follow up, are understood and embraced by all partners.

Key business outreach representatives exist with skills in building and operating meaningful partnerships with businesses, both individually and in the context of multi-business industry partnerships (i.e. industry sector partnerships). Includes ability to work with businesses to effectively validate and dig deep on talent needs

An understanding, from working with key businesses, the natural progression/mobility of workers in targeted industries/occupations (i.e. career ladders/lattices)

Meaningful relationships with businesses and key target industries in order to build innovative business-focused programs/services including work-based learning, apprenticeships, and other recruitment, hiring, training, and transition services.

Coordinated business engagement represents “the whole” when in front of business. Follow up regularly includes bringing in the partner/resources to address the solution.

① ② ③ ④ ⑤ Where/How could this be strengthened? RATE: EXPLAIN HERE:

Rate: 3 Collectively we do a good job of engaging business and finding

people jobs. And in general we feel we are able to establish meaningful relationships with business. But we are often challenged with significantly increasing our market share due to resource limitations.

Being a fairly young consortium, we also have room to improve the depth of our business assessments to ensure we ask the right questions to effectively refer business across our partnerships, this allows each of us to do what we do best vs having to be everything to all businesses.

We can improve how well we coordinate our work and data when it comes to career ladders and pathways. Often times, high school tackle this by themselves, as do colleges, labor market gurus, and our workforce system, etc... There is no shortage of data when it comes to this, but there often is a lack of consolidating the data and working collectively on a strategic initiatives and also throughout our organizations (beyond our participating consortium members).

We can improve on how well we support and market apprenticeships and work based learning opportunities.

Overall Ratings: Fill in the bubbles that best describe your level of partnership, 1 – 5. ❶ = “Not at all” | ❺ = “We’re high-flying”

Integrated Business Services Self-Assessment

OUTREACH & COMMUNICATION Notes & Overall Rating (see key below)

There is an adopted shared message for communicating to the business community the vision and strengths of the state’s/region’s integrated business services system.

Services being presented to businesses—from across partners—are not siloed or menu-driven, but focus on delivering solutions to expressed business needs

Messaging centers around concepts important to businesses including how these services will impact profitability and productivity.

There is a consolidated brand and it is embraced by all partners serving businesses

① ② ③ ④ ⑤ Where/How could this be strengthened? RATE: EXPLAIN HERE:

Rate: 4 Many of us have worked together for years in a variety of roles.

This has allowed us to develop a rare level of trust and communication. We work very well together and this may be our greatest strength and has helped us elevate rise above our technology challenges of not having a shared system. But to improve we need to find a more sustainable solution to a shared platform to allow us to work better as one.

We are currently in the process of revising our Menu of Services, but this question (bullet #2) created a great discussion amongst us. Are we too tied to a menu of service and sharing what we each offer to a business that we fail to take the time to place a business in the middle of the conversation, truly listen to their staffing challenges and provide them solutions tailored specifically to their needs?

Do we have a shared message? And does our message help business clearly see how we can impact their bottom line.

Overall Ratings: Fill in the bubbles that best describe your level of partnership, 1 – 5. ❶ = “Not at all” | ❺ = “We’re high-flying”

Integrated Business Services Self-Assessment

SUSTAINABILITY & CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT Notes & Overall Rating (see key below)

Coordinated cross-partnership measures (i.e. quantifiable goals) have been developed around engaging and serving businesses…

A regional structure is in place (e.g. cross-partner committees, teams) to guide, implement and sustain this work.

An effective staffing structure exists to support industry sector partnerships (i.e. regional strategic business engagement) and the day-to-day business outreach operations. And information flows across and between these.

Cross-agency training is in place to ensure all partners are aware of the solutions inherent in these approaches

① ② ③ ④ ⑤ Where/How could this be strengthened? RATE: EXPLAIN HERE:

Rate: 3 Sustainability is often a concern. We are always in danger with

funding challenges, policy changes, changes in organizational directions, changes in organizational leadership, etc… since we are mostly publicly funded and a system of multiple organizations.

We have incredible buy-in and trust amongst ourselves, but is there that same investment from our organizations as a whole. What happens when we leave? Are our organizations invested in renewing their support?

Another collective strength we have is our drive to always be continually improving how we operate. That same drive is what brought us all here. We are always looking for ways to improve our business. Many of us are lean trained, we have access to green belts and numerous CQI methodologies. Over this last year we invested in Human Centered Design training to allow us to better engage our customers in our continuous redesign process.

Do we need a more formal structure? Or is it better to have a model of equals?

Overall Ratings: Fill in the bubbles that best describe your level of partnership, 1 – 5. ❶ = “Not at all” | ❺ = “We’re high-flying”