Job/Training Retention Workshop Managers Forum, Toronto, March, 2011

1. Job/Training Retention Workshop Managers Forum, Toronto, March, 2011

2. Introductions • Me • You (amongst yourselves) • Your expectations – each table bring one (or two) expectation back to the group

3. Objectives Describe Job/Training Retention as it appears in Guidelines Look at success factors for retention Discuss when and how retention can break down Articulating client and employer needs and motivations How to deliver results Describe sustainable employer relationship, and ways to grow them Understand why good documentation is important Partially, this workshop is about parsing (and putting under the microscope) the language of the guidelines.

4. Ground Rules • We are all experts. Let’s share our expertise • Questions are good • Lots of content, so will keep moving • Mobile devices set to vibrate or off

5. Q. What is retention?

6. “Retention is a business management term referring to efforts by employers to retain current employees in their workforce. The purpose is to avoid employee turnover and associated costs.” Retention can be a particular problem in specific jobs, especially high-stress jobs. Source: Wikipedia

7. Q. What is Job/Training Retention?

8. “Job/Training Retention supports longer-term attachment to or advancement in the labour market or completion of training and is in addition to regular placement monitoring, support and follow-up. Both clients and employers receive this enhanced support when an on-the-job placement, training completion, employment and/or advancement are unlikely to succeed without further assistance.” Section 3.5 of Guidelines

9. Why job seekers need retention support Job seekers can lack: communications skills that can get and keep them a job stability in their lives cultural understanding work experience Job seekers may: be new to the community and not know anyone have barriers that they need support to overcome (language, disability,…) have negative employer perceptions towards them (at-risk youth, persons with disabilities, new Canadians, others)

10. May be having difficulty retaining employees May not have a human resources person to help in retention May not understand well retention activities and process Would like to access a ‘new’ way of accessing and retaining employees Would like to reduce the costs of doing business, especially the costs of replacing employees who leave Why employers need retention support

11. Planning for retention – Some of what I’ve heard from the field • We’ve always done it anyway. It’s Accommodation/ Support Plans and Job Coaching and the world won’t be much different • We do need to build deeper employer relationships • We haven’t really looked at this too much • Staffing retention will be an issue. We’re already dealing with diminished staffing levels • Let me tell you about some of the job developers that have been taking training with us at ONESTEP…

12. Of course, the recent catalyst for all this, feeding the need for Retention focus • Transformation to a one-stop shop EO services

13. EO’s Employment Service Model Job Search Resource and Information Job Matching, Placement and Incentives Other Employment Ontario Programs Job/Training Retention Client Service Planning and Coordination

14. Job/Training Retention – suitability and expectations • Client Key Suitability indicators • Continuing issues around market perceptions and workplace performance, including such things as history of marginal or entry-level employment or of repeated job loss, a significant absence from the workforce, or being new to the Canadian workplace. • [Clients] and employers expect: • Peer coaching and mentoring* • More frequent and longer follow up and monitoring • Ongoing employment counselling during and after employment and placement* • Access to other community supports Section 2.1.7 of Guidelines

15. Job/Training Retention – Overall clients expectations, per Guidelines • Clients expect that their experience in the Employment Service will start them on a path to sustained employment and career opportunities. [emphasis mine] • Almost sounds like a mission, or for some of us perhaps more of a vision! Section 2.1.7 of Guidelines

16. Retention diagnostic and process – 1 of 2 Steps to establish retention readiness • Have appropriate personnel in place, with responsibilities clearly defined • Build retention planning into the beginning of client relationships – i.e., during intake, Client Service Planning and Coordination • Assess the need based on suitability indicators. Service based on ‘rationale’ • Use your data to identify those most at need; allows predictive prescreening both for clients and for employers • Identify those in-need: Get to know your job seekers

17. Retention diagnostic and process – 2 of 2 Steps to establish retention readiness – communication! • Client retention support assessment and communication (before retention is even an issue) – communicate with those clients most likely to need retention support • Employer retention support assessment and communication (before retention is even an issue) – employers want to retain employees so talk about it! • i.e., what does an employer need to have in place to successfully retain employees • Plans for referrals for those not yet “retention-ready” to services/supports that can aid retention-readiness through training, supports, etc. BE PROACTIVE.

18. Question: • Who in your organization will drive retention?

19. Depends on your organization/structure • Different organizations have responsibility for retention lying with different owners: • Solely the job developer • Both the employment counsellor and the job developer (when there are two distinct people and roles) • For those with hybrid roles (one person is both the EC and the JD) then that person owns retention • For those with ODSP clients, retention may lay with a maintenance/retention-focused staff member + the JD – use existing support structures • But whatever the situation, beware overloading your staff

20. Job Developer competencies • Resource • Support person • Case manager • Presenter • Assessments • Promotion • Legislation awareness • Accommodations • Conflict resolution • Computer skills • Teaching • others… • Ambassador • Coach/mentor • Listener • Communicator • Spokesperson • Facilitator • Follow-up • Motivator • Sales • Multi-tasker • Planner • Life skills • Advocate • Marketer • Recruiter • Budget • Negotiator • Mediator • Counsellor • LMI trends aware • Problem solver • Community liaison • Well-organized • Adaptable, flexible • Professional • Empathetic

21. Seven critical competenciesof amazing Job Developers • Active listening • Powerful questioning / inquisitive • Networking and face-to-face relationship building skills • Marketing skills • Presentation skills – both to employers and within the marketplace • Problem solving • Acute powers of observation – job seekers and employers Table stakes: well-versed in local labour market, employment and human rights and regulations

22. Question: • Who in your organization will drive retention? • What supports will they need to be successful? How will you resource them? • Will they alone “own” your organization’s retention success? • Should your organization differentiate who owns which activities? • Which activities and why?

23. Retention-related data collection • Do you collect it? Quit/Fired/“Constructive firing”… • If not, then… Question: • If you collected retention data on your organization’s placements, at what point do you believe the data would indicate that a placement is most likely to break down? • First month is the worst month • First two weeks are the worst weeks • First five days are the worst days • So when should retention strategies be activated?

24. ONESTEP Job Developer/Job Seeker Relationship Process Is the job seeker ready for job development? Get to know your job seeker Am I right for this job seeker? Define the relationship        Establish open communication Strike a balance with your time Be consistent andcommunicate regularly

25. Getting to know your job seekers Question: • What are the ways you can get to know your job seekers?

26. Getting to know your job seekers • Face-to-face meetings • Reports from colleagues • Personality styles (Personality Dimensions, MBTI) • Personal traits (always on time to appointments, always late, etc.) • Identifying interests • Essential Skills >> the next slides • Wanting to help job seekers is probably why we’re in our job today

27. Essential Skills – critical to retention • Essential Skills are skills that people use to do a variety of everyday life and work tasks • Essential Skills are not the technical skills required within specific jobs but rather the skills applied in all jobs. For example, reading skills: • maintenance staff may have to read and understand written work orders before they can do maintenance • Essential Skills are actually life skills. They are transferrable

28. Employer: “I’m looking for a receptionist…” • When you hear this, what questions do you ask this employer?

29. Job Matching – aligning job seeker Essential Skills and employer needs • Compare job seeker Essential Skills Inventory to a employer Essential Skills Inventory • Needs to be at least a 70% match for the placement to have the potential of being successful • with a plan for bringing the remaining 30% up to employer needs levels • Be co-operative: Be prepared to go into your community and speak with other Job Developers to see whether they have a job seeker that meets the employer’s needs

30. Technique that can drive Retention – Job Appraisals • Once job seeker is working • Generally two-to-four pages per job seeker capturing success tasks and skills • Have the employer assess your job seeker on a task-by-task, skill-by-skill basis • allows you to trouble shoot placements, and identify the specific challenges job seekers may be experiencing • Happens during first week • Work with both job seeker and employer to remediate issues • Use the original agreement with the employer to verify that the job description and tasks

31. Retention = supporting the most barriered clients – what do they look like? Can be combinations of: • Lack of work experience • Lack of education • Disabilities – developmental, learning, physical, others • Mental health issues • Job seekers that don’t understand or accept that they have barriers • Job seekers with limited workplace skills • Job seekers that verbally commit but “don’t deliver” – “lazy”, “unmotivated”, go to work late, or not at all • Anger management issues • Job seekers that face prejudice, preconceptions • Job seekers that have poor interpersonal skills • Job seekers that fail to participate in additional support programs • Job seekers that blame everyone but themselves • “Challenging” clients are likely to be our regular job seekers! • Clients with ‘deep’ barriers or multiple barriers are most likely candidates for retention support

32. Approaches with particularly challenging job seekers that can aid placement and retention: Job Carving, Job Sharing • Requires a different approach to conversations with employers • Some of the relationship-establishing questions you ask will be different • The kinds of employers you’re looking for are different • Will require an even deeper employer relationship than usual

33. Approaches with particularly challenging job seekers: Build ‘Specific’ Employer Relationships • Identify and target appropriate entry level jobs • Identify where those jobs exist • Rather than asking where’s the appropriate job match for a particular job seeker, use your Essential Skills Inventory and have conversations with employers that have those kinds of jobs to access those pools of jobs

34. What constitutes retention activities? • Right now, depends on who you talk to • Also depends on how you read the Guidelines • For instance, some “mentoring/coaching” activities exist within the placement component so really shouldn’t qualify as retention For example: • “support in identifying and resolving workplace issues with the participant that may impact the employer’s ability to meet business goals” and • “providing mentoring and coaching support during and after the placement” – both section 3.4.1 Job Matching, Placement and $ • Best bet: talk with you ETC to get clarity

35. The main challenge to retention planning Q: What do you feel is the primary challenge to planning for the retention component? • I believe that it’s the fact that EO hasn’t fully defined what is meant by retention • Everyone is finding their own way which is not the most efficient or effective route • Again, I can’t describe a process that hasn’t been defined by those who pay the bills.

36. Your responses to the challenge? • Some organizations are still in VERY early stages of thinking about what retention means to their business • Other organizations are “test driving” retention activities through individual client/employer conflicts • One agency’s retention challenge: getting commitment from both client and employer to proceed with retention activities • Client needs “time”; employer wants “results” • Others? • Key best practice related to retention in any scenario: • Assessing clients at intake as to the potential need for retention activities • Build the idea of retention activities into the Support Plan

37. ONESTEP Job Developer Sales Process Exploring employer needs and motivations Getting in front of employers Proposing solutions      Closing the deal  Delivering on your promises (and theirs) Sustaining and expanding the relationship

38. Retention-related data collection – part 2 • What do you think the results told us were the key issues that lead to the failure of the employment relationship? #1 Employer issue: • Lack of understanding of how to support the client #1 Client issue: • Lack of problem solving ability/skills/support • #1 issue that predicted the success of a placement? • Client having a “best friend” at work. What’s a synonym for “friend”?

39. More about what the Guidelines say about retention • Service providers must offer, at a minimum, services such as: • A pool of mentors/coaches to support clients • Development of a support plan with the client and mentor/coach and employer (as appropriate) • Linking clients with mentors/coaches to provide support during and after [emphasis mine] job placement. • Monitoring of the mentor/coach relationship with clients… facilitating adjustments as required • So retention is about clients AND employers Section 3.5 of Guidelines

40. ONESTEP Job Developer Sales Process Exploring employer needs and motivations      

41. Employer needs Needs are equivalent to answering the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How questions. But with some editing It’s minus the “Who” because it’s our job to create the profile for the “Who”. BEWARE: the employer may already believe they know the ‘who’ they need And the “Why” here deals with the “hard reasons”, i.e., “I need a sales person”, “I need general maintenance help on the shop floor”

42. Employer motivations Motivations are the Who and Why beyond “I need a…” It’s why the employer is looking for candidates, but relates more to the “soft reasons” Is the employer looking for: Hiring assistance? Things they shouldn’t be looking for? Incentives? HR help because they really have no idea? Wants to grow the business? Short term seasonal support? Long term fit in company? Relationship with you? Understanding these needs and motivators will help drive retention

43. Needs and motivations

44. Different needs and motivations • There are two distinct aspects to employer needs and motivations: • Employer needs and motivations for working together • Employer needs and motivations related to the role they would like to fill • Use Essential Skills, formal job descriptions and employer verbal descriptions to define these • Both of these will impact retention

45. ONESTEP Job Developer Sales Process Proposing solutions      

46. Proposing solutions – these are all retention issuesTheir expectations = Benefits you offer Table source: EO’s Service Provider Guidelines

47. Presenting candidates – JD and organizational considerations Ensure your proposal outlines the kinds of candidates/skills/attributes for which the employer is looking – the ‘fit’ is key Review your inventory of job seekers to assess their fit with the employer needs profile Always put the employer first: Consider going to a job developer at another community agency to broker a fit with the most appropriate job seeker(s)

48. Proposing solutions – five keys to retention(Include in Support Plan) • Retention starts with “placing wisely” • If you have a customer service role that requires cash register knowledge, hire for the customer service and train the for till • Identify client and employer “key needs and motivators” – ensure alignment • Ensure quality of supervision • Clients leave supervisors more often than they leave a job • Sufficient compensation • Help meeting personal/family commitments – be up-front • “For you to feel appreciated/valued/needed what needs to happen?”

49. Incentives as tools of retention • Beware the story of the Job Developer overly dependent on incentives • Job Matching, Placements and Incentives – incentives appear within this component • However, while incentives can provide training support they can also be a tool to drive retention. • One way: write the incentives into the agreement so that they flow in stages – for example: • upon employer’s acceptance of placement • upon the client’s passing a first time-related milestone • upon the client’s completion of the placement period

50. ONESTEP Job Developer Sales Process       Closing the deal