How One-Stop Centers Can Attract Business Customers
This Business Assistance Note is based on a 1996 National Alliance of Business compilation and analysis of employer surveys and focus groups conducted by One-Stop Centers and learning laboratories from across the country. In sum, information from 3,943 employer survey respondents and 619 employer focus group participants contributed to this Note. For more information on One-Stop Centers and the National Alliance of Business study, contact Eleanor Mower, 202/289-2837.
All across the country, federal, state, and local governments are working to overhaul their services, seeking to increase quality and efficiency, and adopting a customer service approach to their operations. The Department of Labor s One-Stop Career Center initiative is an integral part of this movement.
One-Stop Centers bring together a package of public and some private resources to meet individuals and employers human resource development and labor market needs. For individuals, this includes career assistance; labor market, education, and training information; job listings and job search support; skill building; and support services and financial assistance. For employers, it includes both hiring and non-hiring services, such as resume matching, job analysis, training programs, and information about day care or labor law, consulting services, and assistance accessing government programs or complying with government regulations.
To improve quality and efficiency, as well as customer service, One-Stop Centers must listen to their customers -- individuals and employers -- and then design services and delivery strategies in response to their needs and concerns. While service to both customer groups is critical, this Business Assistance Note focuses only on meeting employers needs.
In the past, employment and training programs viewed individuals as their primary customers. As these programs have moved toward the One-Stop Center concept, however, they have had to expand this horizon. Centers have had to develop new models of service delivery focused on meeting the needs of employers. Many centers have done an exceptional job meeting this challenge; others are still adapting to their new customers.
This Business Assistance Note identifies some key business needs and presents some options for meeting those needs. One-Stop Centers that have been in operation for years, and provide customers with high quality, efficient services, may pick up a few new ideas. Other centers, those just beginning to meet their new customers requirements, can gain even more.
Meeting employers needs involves:
Delivering the services employers most want,
Providing an environment that encourages employers to work with Once-Stop Centers, and
Developing systems that ensure quality services, efficient operations, and a customer service approach to delivery.
Businesses operate in a global economy. To remain competitive they need to find skilled workers -- a challenge in today s tight labor market. They also need to keep overhead costs low, a circumstance leading many companies to search for ways to streamline, or even outsource, their human resource functions.
One-Stop Centers can help companies meet these needs. The best Centers will demonstrate value and attract business customers by providing five key services: 1) recruitment of job applicants, 2) assessment and testing of applicants and, perhaps, employees, 3) referral of appropriate applicants for open job positions, 4) training, or access to training services, for both applicants and current employees, and 5) up-to-date labor market and wage information.
In an era of labor shortages, employers must recruit from as broad and diverse an applicant pool as possible to find qualified workers. Effective One-Stop Centers help employers by developing applicant pools that include skilled and semi-skilled workers, members of minority groups, employed individuals (not just those who are unemployed), and individuals from schools and colleges. These Centers further increase their value to employers by recruiting statewide, as well as locally, and providing access to nationwide talent pools.
The most productive One-Stop Centers increase their applicant pools by publicizing open positions widely and making it easy for applicants to connect with them. They distribute job announcements through newspapers, chambers of commerce, and the Internet. They recruit applicants through public service announcements and job fairs. By creating partnerships with local schools, and placing computer terminals at the schools, libraries, or even in shopping malls, these One-Stop Centers encourage and make it easier for individuals to connect to center services.
Strong One-Stop Centers connect employers who are hiring with those laying off employees, so that the employees can be placed in new jobs before they are actually laid off. These Centers also create linkages that would smooth out seasonal employment fluctuations, enabling employers to move employees from companies with job surpluses to those with shortages.
In the current environment of labor shortages, the best One-Stop Centers help employers by providing them with access to individuals outside the labor market, such as welfare recipients. These Centers do not just walk away after connecting employers with these potentially high risk employees. They provide the support services these individuals may need to succeed in their jobs, such as education and training, child care, and transportation.
Recruiting and hiring new employees is costly. The more employers know about potential employees, the more likely they are to make sound hiring decisions. Sound hiring decisions limit the likelihood that employers will be recruiting and hiring for the same position again soon -- and
The NOVA (North Valley) Private Industry Council, in California s northern Santa Clara County, developed the Skills Testing, Assessment, and Reemployment (STAR) system to match job seekers with appropriate employment and develop a customized employment plan for each individual. STAR offers comprehensive testing of vocational aptitudes, interests, values, transferable skills, English language skill levels, personality style, and management style. NOVA clients receive individualized assessment and one-on-one counseling to discuss results and develop a practical employment plan. Contact: Laura Caccia, 408/730-7232.
that saves companies money.
Effective One-Stop Centers help employers gain important information about potential employees by screening them before sending them on job interviews. Many companies consider basic skills testing to be a vital service. Some are also interested in personality and aptitude tests, as well as assessments of specific technical or soft skills. While some employers want centers to conduct in-depth interviews, others would like access to center facilities to conduct their own interviews.
The best Centers develop a menu of assessment tools, and then customize their services to meet the needs of different employers. They need to be careful, though, that all of the tests they use are reliable and meet Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) requirements. Assessment and testing do not have to be free services; centers may find they need to charge a fee to cover their costs. Assessment and testing do not necessarily have to be offered at center sites either; centers may want to contract out these services to community or technical colleges.
Many states are using technology to provide employers with easy access to applicants resumes, and match applicants skills to employers needs. A number of states provide access to America s Talent Bank, the Internet web site containing resumes from across the nation. California has its own ProMatch, an Internet-based resume profile service with summaries of resumes employers can search by job title categories. Missouri has a total resume service that allows employers Internet access to electronic versions of job seeker resumes.
Texas and West Virginia use Skills 2000, a software program measuring the skills and proficiency levels required by specific jobs, and matching these to applicants skills and proficiency levels. North Dakota developed a Qualification Driven Referral System (QDS), which builds occupational codes, education degree areas, and specific skills into a job matching system. California uses the Job Match system, which electronically matches qualified job seekers with employers job orders. Florida uses Documaster Keyword for skills matching, while Vermont uses a keyword search system to match employer requirements with applicant skills.
After recruitment and assessment comes referral. Strong Centers reduce employers hiring costs by carefully screening job applicants, and limiting referrals to applicants whose skills meet the companies job requirements. These Centers conduct background screenings to verify applicants references and college and work experience, as well as their criminal records and alien status.
Employers frequently don t provide much lead time when they need new employees. Centers that provide just in time referral services can become indispensable to employers. Companies usually don t think they have enough time to interview qualified job seekers, let alone unqualified ones. When asked, effectual centers provide another valuable service by suppressing the names and addresses of companies seeking employees and keeping these from applicants who do not meet business requirements.
Employers have different needs. Some want direct access to a summary of applicant skills and applicant resumes, in book format or on line via modem. Others want to review information only for those screened and considered qualified. Still others would like the option of receiving candidate summaries in order to select individuals to screen themselves. One-Stop Centers can best meet employers needs by being flexible, and designing referral strategies in response to each employer s request.
Job skill requirements are constantly rising. Hewlett-Packard estimates that the half life of an engineering degree is now 18 months. Companies need employees well schooled in the current, and future, skill requirements of the workplace. Productive One-Stop Centers help companies meet their workforce skill needs by providing access to training systems prepared to handle a diverse clientele, from those currently employed to those chronically unemployed. By including both business and labor in the formation of their training systems, these One-Stop Centers ensure that training content and delivery meet companies and individuals needs.
Centers do not need to deliver training for every skill directly; they could also function as a referral service. Because the training services available to companies are so difficult to locate and assess, One-Stop Centers that can clarify companies options in this regard provide critical assistance. It is important, however, that centers be able to supply objective information on both private and public training providers, so that trainees and employers can make intelligent choices.
Companies training needs are as diverse as the companies themselves. The best One-Stop Centers are equipped to provide training or training referrals for a variety of skills, including English as a Second Language, literacy skills (reading, writing, and mathematics), computer and technological skills, and basic job and work ethic skills. These One-Stop Centers help applicants identify their own skills and skill needs, and offer internship or apprenticeship programs. By monitoring trainees progress over time, centers ensure their training programs are meeting trainees learning objectives.
There are a number of federal and state programs strong One-Stop Centers access to provide employers with financial assistance to help cover the costs of training. While many companies do not want to bother with government programs, others would appreciate funds that subsidized employees wages during training, or helped defray direct training costs. Centers prepared to link employers with appropriate government training and employment programs have one more benefit to offer their business customers.
While most One-Stop Centers only offer training services to unemployed individuals or new hires, some centers are branching out from this traditional base. These impressive Centers take on the role of human resource consultants and provide training to companies current employees, including instruction in meeting general employment regulatory requirements (e.g., OSHA, EEOC, or affirmative action). Many centers are entering into partnerships with local community and technical colleges, and four-year colleges and universities in order to provide companies with these services.
One-Stop Centers looking toward the future will also work with the public school systems, promoting work ethic training as early as high school, or even elementary school.
Six regional labor market analysts serve in Minnesota as local information brokers providing labor market information (LMI) to the business community. The analysts have familiarized Workforce Center staff with LMI, and trained them to access the LMI electronically. The analysts handle information requests from employers, job developers, community action groups, and the education community, and make presentations to Workforce Center staff and their customers.
Minnesota has also developed monthly regional LMI newsletters, and a prototype Regional LMI World Wide Web page with specific regional data and references. The state has initiated regional studies with local partners on a variety of topics, including several competitive industry analyses and workers skill surveys. Contact: Howard Glad, 612/296-7510.
For companies to compete today, they need to know about the labor market: how and where to find the employees they need, and what the competitive rate is for employee compensation. The most constructive One-Stop Centers increase their value to employers by collecting a variety of labor market data targeted to business needs, and disseminating it through a range of media.
These One-Stop Centers provide wage and unemployment statistics, as well as information on the types of jobs existing in local areas. They supply access to EEOC profiling and demographic information, which employers can use in their labor negotiations and to expand and target labor markets. Information on local business labor conditions can also help employers work with other companies to move employees from companies with surpluses to those with shortages. Fast feedback on salary surveys provides companies with more accurate statewide and area-specific occupational information.
Productive One-Stop Centers provide a directory of labor market information, including product descriptions, a contact person, and phone listings. They make labor market information available via modem, telephone, fax, and mail. These One-Stop Centers put all labor market information together in one place, making it available to companies through only one Internet connection, one phone call, or one order form.
The best One-Stop Centers expand their labor market information offerings by tapping professional associations, chambers of commerce, and local development corporations for data. They also keep lists of like employers willing to participate in surveys, developing systems for ensuring that any data collected does not identify participating companies and protects companies competitive secrets. These Centers also provide samples of the surveys they conduct, so that companies wanting to could use these on their own.
Companies need information that is accurate and up to date. Top One-Stop Centers further help employers by providing objective assessments of any data they make available.
To attract business customers, One-Stop Centers need to create an environment comparable to that found in the private sector. Research on service organizations has identified five common attributes affecting an individual s evaluation of service:
For One-Stop Centers, these five attributes translate into three key elements: 1) employer access, 2) customer service, and 3) marketing. We discuss each below.
The Washington On-Line Reemployment Kiosk (WORK) is a job search and employment information system containing listings of current job openings provided by Washington state employers. The system also features a talent bank of Washington state job seeker resumes which can be searched by any employer, and extensive links to a wide range of career and labor market information. WORK allows job seekers and employers to access job information from their home or office computers or from public access computers located in libraries, career centers, and Job Service Centers. WORK provides
A public job listing database with keyword search to help employers and job seekers use the Internet to advertise jobs or locate potential employment opportunities;
On-Line access to job orders listed by the U.S. Employment Service through America s Job Bank;
A resume talent bank with keyword search to market the skills of the Washington state labor force and help employers locate potential job candidates;
User friendly labor market information and on-line job search assistance services; and
Access to information about Washington state employers.
Internet address: http://www.wa.gov/work. Contact: Joe Racek, 360/438-4635.
One-Stop Centers that are easy to access will best be able to engage new business customers. Effective Centers establish facilities in a variety of locations. Every location does not have to provide the center s full menu of services; some can be outposts, or even just computer kiosks.
The best One-Stop Centers provide access through a variety of media, including interactive websites, toll free phone calls, fax machines, electronic bulletin boards, and other means of electronic access. Centers do not need to abandon old fashioned means of access; there is still value in disseminating newsletters and conducting other mailings.
When employers contract for a service, they expect friendly and knowledgeable staff to provide consistent and timely services. To meet this expectation, productive One-Stop Center staff personally greet all clients (both employers and job seekers), are polite, and show enthusiasm for the services they have to offer and the assistance they provide. Center staff may need training in cultural and ethnic issues in order to provide the level of professionalism employers expect.
Business needs to know that any information received from One-Stop Centers is accurate. Top Centers build their staffs knowledge by assigning them to cover particular industry sectors. They may also unify services by sharing information among staff people. Assigning specific companies to specific staff people helps build in necessary consistency and accountability. This kind of account management system is frequently a key factor in One-Stop Centers success with employers.
Business expects efficiency. To be efficient, the best centers maintain enough staff, have hours of operation that match the business community s needs, and a voice mail system that is easy to use. These One-Stop Centers promote staff efficiency by providing incentives for staff to work quickly and return phone calls promptly.
Business also expects consistency. Productive One-Stop Centers build consistency into the services staff provide and the procedures staff follow. To improve their operations and enable them to streamline their processes, these One-Stop Centers provide staff with training in quality control, accountability, team work, and time management.
State One-Stop Systems and local centers are actively trying to improve their customer service, introducing customer service training, setting standards for timely service, and adopting a variety of practices, including
Using customer greeters,
Providing a single contact person for each employer,
Creating a customer complaint process
Instituting training on cultural and ethnic issues,
Automating systems for routine inquiries,
Acknowledging the receipt of job orders,
Adopting non-traditional office hours, and
Assigning staff by business sector.
Part of high quality customer service is on-going communication with clients. Companies want acknowledgments that job postings were faxed or mailed, and they want centers to provide information on why center-operated programs are dropped. Competent One-Stop Centers newsletters to companies keep them up-to-date on changes in program and service operations.
The quality of centers communication with job seekers is also important to employers. Centers that provide individuals with good information about business expectations serve employers as well as job seekers.
Most employers don t know their local One-Stop Centers, or the services they can provide. Marketing to the employer community provides several opportunities. Besides raising the local community s awareness of the centers offerings, marketing One-Stop resources and services improves the business perception of the public employment and training system. The best One-Stop Centers market themselves like a business, and provide a pro-business image.
A collaborative of nine local agencies, led by California s NOVA (North Valley) Private Industry Council, used a One-Stop System Building grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to expand and reposition its services to area employers. The collaborative conducted employer surveys to determine customer needs, and provided local agencies with small project grants to create new, and eventually self-sustaining, business services.
With agency services more in line with employers needs, the collaborative developed marketing materials and a dissemination strategy targeted at employers. The materials were created for a business audience, and sales staff were encouraged to take a consultative approach to their marketing efforts. The collaborative, which has grown to include 26 agencies, now markets its services as one, under the banner CONNECT! Workforce and Business Solutions for Silicon Valley. Contact: Joann Kleinman, 408/522-1034.
For the Kenosha County Job Center in Wisconsin, marketing is not about advertising, it is about building relationships with local employers, and developing a customized package of services to meet each employer s individual needs. The Job Center matches marketing team members with area employers, providing each employer with a single point of access, a team member serving as an account manager, who can pull together all of the human resource and labor market services the employer needs -- wherever those services reside.
When team members meet with employers, they first ask the employers about their current needs and future plans, and then discuss the services the Job Center has to offer and how these services can help meet employer needs. With this approach, the center is able to customize its services to meet employers requirements; employers aren t asked to shape their priorities to fit the center s pre-determined menu of services.
The Job Center combines its employer conversations with more formal surveys to inform its long-term service development. By building a reputation for client satisfaction, and developing services in response to customer needs, the Kenosha County Job Center basically markets itself. Satisfied customers recruit more satisfied customers. Contact: John VanBenthuysen, 414/697-4523.
The state of Wisconsin is taking a lead role in marketing its new system of One-Stop Centers. In 1996, the state hired a marketing firm to develop a state-wide marketing plan, and then began rolling out its campaign in February, 1998.
The marketing campaign, with its slogan Sharpen Your Competitive Edge, highlights the range of services Wisconsin s Job Centers can offer employers. The campaign is designed to erase employers prior perceptions of government employment offices by focusing on such Job Center services as education and training, technical assistance, access to labor market information, and information on government regulations and programs, in addition to the centers expanded capacity to locate qualified job applicants for employers.
Wisconsin s marketing campaign is quite extensive, including direct mail, advertisements on television and radio and in newspapers and trade magazines, and a public relations campaign targeted at the media. The state conducted media tours, and received coverage in newspapers, on radio, and in television news programs. Wisconsin s media push is designed to complement the activities of the state s Job Centers: The state builds awareness, while the centers build relationships with local companies. The state is enhancing the link between its efforts and those of the Job Centers by providing the centers with a video and brochures they can use in their marketing efforts. Contact: Jan Watson, Knupp & Watson, 608/232-2300.
Employers don t want to have to dig in order to get information about available services. Effective One-Stop Centers use marketing to get their messages out to employers. These Centers advertise on television, use brochures, newsletters, and other local mechanisms (such as quarterly workers compensation statements) to keep employers current about center services. Centers that carefully design their names and phone numbers make them easy for employers to remember.
Top One-Stop Centers make public information public. They place computer kiosks in schools and shopping malls for easy access. These Centers do a better job marketing to potential applicants as well as employers, providing career information and news about job openings to schools and other community groups.
Word of mouth is an excellent marketing tool. Productive One-Stop Centers make person to person visits; they also use employer committees to spread information on center services. Satisfied customers may be One-Stop Centers best marketing tools. Satisfied customers talk to their peers, spreading the word about center successes and achievements.
Marketing can be seen as a continuous process of research, planning, implementation, and further research. There are six key steps to the marketing process:
The marketing process is not linear. Successful marketing requires reacting to opportunities as they arise, and reworking plans in response to new circumstances.(2)
Government operations throughout the United States are challenged to improve their effectiveness and efficiency, and demonstrate accountability. One-Stop system building efforts are no exception. Business will be attracted to those centers that meet this challenge. The quality and efficiency employers are looking for come from good management, and ongoing evaluation and improvement of center services.
Massachusetts One-Stop Career Centers are overseen by Regional Employment Boards (REBs), comprised primarily of volunteer business members. REBs grant charters (licenses to operate) for One-Stop Career Centers on a competitive basis. The state has found that no one type of organization has a competitive advantage; a variety of non-profit, not-for-profit, and public organizations have successfully competed for charters. Contact: Karin McCarthy, 617/626-5680.
To meet employer standards, One-Stop Centers need to be run like businesses. Successful centers focus on their customers -- job seekers and employers, and keep politics out of their operations. These centers have strategic plans, shaped by full stakeholder analyses.
Involving employers in One-Stop Center strategy sessions helps ensure that center services will match customer needs. The business community can provide valuable input on centers goals and strategies every step of the way. Appointments to center boards can be made by either local city councils, or county boards of supervisors, and centers and their boards can work closely with local chambers of commerce. One-Stop Center priorities that are decided by local boards, based on local concerns, are most likely to meet local needs. States can play a role in improving center management by promoting communication and coordination among One-Stop Centers.
One-Stop Centers with flexible systems are able to change priorities as customer needs change. To stay flexible, centers can simplify their systems, eliminating excessive regulations, and reducing paperwork. Centers might even consider privatizing some of their operations.
Like all public workforce development systems, One-Stop Centers are highly accountable to the public. Successful One-Stop Centers develop plans for evaluating the effectiveness of their services, monitor their work processes, and report regularly to the public. To remain efficient, these centers limit data collection to that which is needed for management by results.
Strong incentives to perform well and strong disincentives to perform poorly can help keep One-Stop Centers on target. Centers that do not meet set perfromance criteria might face loss of funds, or even closure. Centers with high performance, on the other hand, might be expanded, and receive financial bonuses. Monetary incentives might even be provided to One-Stop employees who perform well, though the public is frequently critical when it learns of bonuses given to government employees.
Performance standards for One-Stop Centers might include cost effectiveness, and return on investment. States might also consider using ISO 9000 standards as a base for developing One-Stop Center standards. Other measures of success could include job placements with livable wages, longevity of employment, and even effective training in basic skills. Centers should consider tracking who enters, as well as who leaves their systems, in order to discourage creaming. Recycling of individuals through the One-Stop System would be a clear indication of failure.
Valid and reliable performance data is also the foundation of continuous improvement. These data are critical in identifying how One-Stop Centers can provide even better services.
As One-Stop Centers first organize themselves and then establish continuous improvement practices, they need to keep employers priorities in mind, and strive to develop systems that address these priorities. To be successful, centers must continue to
Recruit a large and varied pool of job applicants from throughout the state or even the nation, including skilled and semi-skilled individuals, and those currently employed or currently in schools or colleges.
Make basic skills testing a core service. Consider providing other testing services, such as personality, interest, and aptitude assessments.
Have the capacity to screen applicants for skills, experience, criminal history, and alien status. Be prepared to offer these services when when employers request them, for a fee, if necessary.
Know the skills required for the local job market, and provide appropriate training or access to such training.
Provide accurate and up-to-date labor market information, including wage, equal employment opportunity, and unemployment statistics.
Provide a variety of means for accessing One-Stop Center services, including on-line access.
Have a customer service orientation; personally greet clients, show enthusiasm, provide fast service, and promptly return phone calls.
Have a pro-business image; market the One-Stop facility as an employment center, and not an unemployment office.
Manage One-Stop Centers like a business; involve employers in planning activities, eliminate politics from the decision making process, increase communication among centers, and reduce paperwork requirements.
Develop performance indicators, evaluate the effectiveness of services, and regularly report return on investment to the public.
Key to building the capacity outlined above is forming as broad a partnership as possible, with all of the relevant service providers in an area, and pooling talents and resources.
The National Workforce Assistance Collaborative was created with a cooperative agreement grant from the Department of Labor to the National Alliance of Business. For more information, contact the National Alliance of Business, phone 800/787-2848, fax 202/289-2875, or e-mail info@nab.com. Valuable input on this Note was provided by Gene Becker, Becker Management Consulting, Madison, WI, and Stephen Mitchell and Eleanor Mower, National Alliance of Business.
(1)Valerie Zeithaml, A. Parasuraman, and Leonard Berry, Delivering Quality Service (New York: Free Press, 1990).
(2)For more information, see the National Workforce Assistance Collaborative s Identifying and Targeting Market and Customer Segments: A Guide for Service Providers (Washington, DC: National Alliance of Business, 1997).