building resilient employment programs

Building Resilient Employment ProgramsMichele Martin, The Bamboo Project Inc.

Michele Martin

President, The Bamboo Project, Inc.

Career Development Facilitator Instructor

Former HR Manager

20 years of experience in workforce & career development

Goals

Understand the reality of today’s economy and job market

Discuss basic strategies for supporting employment

Explore ideas for moving beyond the basics

Job Market 2014

*This does not reflectthose who have dropped out of the labor force altogether.

Promoting from Within

When there’s an opening, 42% of jobs are filled internally.

Less Pressure to Hire

Rise of Temp/Contract Workers

30-40% of workers are in “perma-temp” or freelance/contract work.

20% of job growth has been in temp workers

Multiple Hiring Sources

45% of external hires come from referrals and applications receivedthrough the company website.

Rapidly Evolving Requirements

Too Many Applicants

Recruitment Management Software

Employer Bias

Implications for Job Seekers

Fewer jobs with more competition for those jobs

Greater “churn” and instability

Changing nature of jobs

Greater difficulty getting noticed

Need to overcome biases

Need to navigate confusing online systems and multiple social networks

Implications for your customers?

Workforce 101

Educate yourselves about. . . Demand occupations and skill/education requirements

Education and training resources

Job search basics

Local job search/employment resources

Temp agencies

Local employers, especially in occupations for which your customers are qualified

With Job Seekers

Make employment a goal and an ongoing conversation

Connect to quality career/job search assessments, tools and resources

Help job seekers monitor job search progress and troubleshoot problems/challenges

Find and share job openings & networking opportunities

As much as possible, facilitate the job seeker in developing and implementing their own job search plan—do NOT act as an intermediary with the employer if at all possible

If you work with employers. . . Know the skills, education, qualifications of your population

Target employers who hire people with those qualifications Discuss what they look for in potential candidates Discuss recruitment/screening process

Partner with other agencies/organizations to develop interventions to prepare job seekers for those jobs

Facilitate job seekers in accessing those jobs directly—direct “job development” only as a last resort

If you do direct job development, refer only qualified applicants!

In developing interventions. . . Connect to career pathways/ladders, not dead-end jobs

Develop/connect to career advancement/retention strategies—from getting the job to keeping the job and moving to new opportunities—especially for underemployed

Connect to ongoing education/learning/skill-building opportunities

Avoid activating negative stereotypes—both job seeker and employer!

Teach them to fish!

What are you doing now? What could you be doing?

Beyond the Basics. . .

Key Principles Need to both respond to and go beyond today’s economy

Build individual resilience AND program/organizational resilience

Will need to stretch ourselves if we want to go beyond helping people to merely survive

Think “how could we make this work?” rather than “this will NEVER work!”

Think “DIT” rather than DIY—co-creation!

Think “Experimental” and “perpetual beta”

How do we combat. . .

Isolation and shame?

Identity issues and stereotype threat?

Scarcity thinking?

Community bias and stereotypes?

People need. . .

Positive sense of identity

Sense of community/belonging

Sense of “control” and empowerment

Sense of purpose that’s larger than themselves

Little Experiments. . .

Use Positive Questions What do you want MORE of in your life? How can you get it?

What are the very best things about you—your strengths and assets? How can you use those in moving forward?

Think of a similar situation you’ve handled well. What made it a success and how can you use that now?

Let’s list all your assets and resources. How can we use those in your situation right now?

What steps could you take, no matter how small, that would bring you closer to what you want?

Who handles this situation well that you could emulate?

Power Posing

Small Wins Journals

Vision Boards

Bigger Experiments. . .

From Case Manager to Coach

Move from hero to host.

Help clarify assets, strengths, resources—what we focus on grows!

Facilitate decision-making through positive questions

Provide structure, tools for action and accountability

Facilitate the ActReflectAct cycle

Help people develop learning/growth mindset.

G.R.O.W Coaching Model

Goal—What do you want?

Reality—What is happening now?

Options—What could you do?

Will—What will you do?

Mastermind Groups

Purpose: Provide ongoing accountability, ideas, support, resources, trouble-shooting, learning.

Facilitated and co-created by members.

Staff provide structure, support, ideas

Focus is on: Goals for the week Progress Troubleshooting Just-in-time learning

Benefits of Group Coaching

Increased probability of achieving goals

Distribution of obstacles

Collective wisdom and multiple perspectives

Resource sharing

Diffusion of stress

Accelerated motivation

Support & challenge

Engage Customers as Co-Creators

“Giving Circles”

Purpose Workshops

What do you want your life to be about?

What are your unique gifts and talents and how can you use them in the world?

Microenterprise/Entrepreneurship

Builds economic, personal and social capital

Most reliable route to self-sufficiency when properly supported

Think “multiple income streams” rather than “find a job”

Community Experiments. . .

World Cafes

Power to the Pop-Up

Crowdsourcing

Hackathons

Open Innovation Challenges

Starts with a BIG question. . . How might we. . . ?

What will you do next?

www.bambooprojectinc.comwww.bambooprojectinc.wikispaces.comwww.michelemmartin.comwww.michelemmartin.com/wfd

Michele Martin610-248-6230michelemmartin@gmail.com