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I have scaled-up again: National Advocacy
4 years ago
I recently had the opportunity to advocate for Workforce Development Professionals in my local county [largest county in WA] to the National Skills Coalition, which helps the U.S government set policy and decide on funding priorities when it comes to frontline workforce development professionals - the people that help jobseekers find good jobs and navigate support services. It was an honor to speak on behalf of our partner organization staff and engage in the national debate about workforce system supports and professional development. Since the vast majority of attendees were East Coast or Midwest, I almost felt like I was representing the entire West Coast!
Here are the major takeaways from what workforce professionals (and those who serve them) are seeing across the United States:
Embedding time for professional development into a frontline workforce professional's daily schedule is highly effective and recommended.
Forge agreements with leadership and managers to schedule staff time to attend professional development
Survey of frontline professionals identified trainings most needed:
Working with challenging clients
Leadership development
Management training
Stress management
Data analysis
Outcomes measurement
Trauma-informed care
Note: Unfair and ineffective to train staff in trauma and resilience but not changing the workplace itself to become more trauma-informed and resilience-building.
Programs, policies, and service delivery that is focused on compliance often create new barriers and reduce efficacy of staff.
Staff who develop a 'compliance' mindset, or compensation structures that focus on compliance, can build artificial limits and create new barriers while failing to reduce existing barriers.
Difference between 'compliance' and 'quality control'.
Data collection must be intentional
If you ask a question, eventually show the people you asked data from the results or decisions made from their answers
Be careful about developing a reputation for asking for the same information again and again but doing nothing with what you are given
Good professional development is offered on a recurring basis, not once.
Set expectation with staff that as new staff come on board, they will get identical training.
Frontline workforce professionals need more opportunities to be at the table to make frontline decisions and be part of planning strategies.
MAJOR CHALLENGES
Service delivery agencies struggle with their own staffing levels
Uncertain schedules
Inability of organizations to accurately forecast more than 3 or 4 weeks into the future
In one survey of 80 service providers, less than 20% are fully staffed for all positions for 12 months to operate programs.
Extraordinarily difficult to hire new staff
Burnout training and mental health training are in high demand among service delivery staff
While training is in demand, staff ability to actually access training is a barrier.
Clients who receive services are also burnt out and struggle with mental health as they access services and get help
Outdated process and policies do not permit much flexibility during changing pandemic conditions
Lack of technology and lack of technological expertise to use technology
Outdated or ‘legacy’ online learning platforms (Learning Management Systems) that do not offer practical value to the staff asked to use those systems to access training.
“Perverse Incentives” in system design that focus on outputs, not outcomes, and function more to justify the continued existence of a system or program than on serving the stakeholders impacted by the system.
Often tied to funding incentives or compliance requirements
Data collected from staff is not always used, and it’s not clear to staff why they are being asked
Staff are repeatedly asked to perform data entry, often asked the same questions every few months.
Funding models frequently fail to incentivize or be structured to advance equity.
Funding often focuses on programmatic outputs first and only give lip service to DEI. When staff and resources are limited, DEI is frequently the first to be deprioritized.
Most funding structures are 'transactional'
Underfunded before pandemic, now also understaffed.
Government and Philanthropy lack coordination.
Business engagements are still largely transactional, workforce professionals struggle to build relationship with employers that advance equity in the workplace
Filling open slots
Meeting outputs required by compliance or funding streams
Frontline workforce professionals are often forced to focus only on service delivery and are denied opportunities to influence programs to advance equity.
RESOURCES
[a bunch of links]
NEEDED SUPPORTS
Supervisors need support in helping develop/grow staff in their organizations
What role can philanthropy play to challenge scarcity mentality
Workforce Development apprenticeships
Certifications for workforce staff
Creating a pipeline for people to enter workforce development careers
Frontline staff recognize themselves in the industry and call themselves Workforce Development Professionals and not just their job titles
Connecting the "Theoretical" services that workforce development systems provide and the de-facto services actually provided.
New hires think their job is to help people, but soon describe their job as "pushing paperwork" and helping clients fill out forms.
my brain is absolutely melted and I will be taking a 'vacation' of sorts for a little while because I'm doing too much again and need to slow the fuck down. I've hit that point where I am doing WAY TOO MANY PROJECTS ALL AT ONCE, and will be taking some time off work next week. Strong support from my manager.
The issue is that I'm extremely good at 'hiding' my internal stress levels, because I am able to stay on top of everything through it all. All projects stay on time, to budget, and to specifications. All of them. So I get given more, and more, and keep kicking ass on all of them.
But now I'm better at recognizing that my clogs are about to pop and am overworking myself.
Here are the major takeaways from what workforce professionals (and those who serve them) are seeing across the United States:
Embedding time for professional development into a frontline workforce professional's daily schedule is highly effective and recommended.
Forge agreements with leadership and managers to schedule staff time to attend professional development
Survey of frontline professionals identified trainings most needed:
Working with challenging clients
Leadership development
Management training
Stress management
Data analysis
Outcomes measurement
Trauma-informed care
Note: Unfair and ineffective to train staff in trauma and resilience but not changing the workplace itself to become more trauma-informed and resilience-building.
Programs, policies, and service delivery that is focused on compliance often create new barriers and reduce efficacy of staff.
Staff who develop a 'compliance' mindset, or compensation structures that focus on compliance, can build artificial limits and create new barriers while failing to reduce existing barriers.
Difference between 'compliance' and 'quality control'.
Data collection must be intentional
If you ask a question, eventually show the people you asked data from the results or decisions made from their answers
Be careful about developing a reputation for asking for the same information again and again but doing nothing with what you are given
Good professional development is offered on a recurring basis, not once.
Set expectation with staff that as new staff come on board, they will get identical training.
Frontline workforce professionals need more opportunities to be at the table to make frontline decisions and be part of planning strategies.
MAJOR CHALLENGES
Service delivery agencies struggle with their own staffing levels
Uncertain schedules
Inability of organizations to accurately forecast more than 3 or 4 weeks into the future
In one survey of 80 service providers, less than 20% are fully staffed for all positions for 12 months to operate programs.
Extraordinarily difficult to hire new staff
Burnout training and mental health training are in high demand among service delivery staff
While training is in demand, staff ability to actually access training is a barrier.
Clients who receive services are also burnt out and struggle with mental health as they access services and get help
Outdated process and policies do not permit much flexibility during changing pandemic conditions
Lack of technology and lack of technological expertise to use technology
Outdated or ‘legacy’ online learning platforms (Learning Management Systems) that do not offer practical value to the staff asked to use those systems to access training.
“Perverse Incentives” in system design that focus on outputs, not outcomes, and function more to justify the continued existence of a system or program than on serving the stakeholders impacted by the system.
Often tied to funding incentives or compliance requirements
Data collected from staff is not always used, and it’s not clear to staff why they are being asked
Staff are repeatedly asked to perform data entry, often asked the same questions every few months.
Funding models frequently fail to incentivize or be structured to advance equity.
Funding often focuses on programmatic outputs first and only give lip service to DEI. When staff and resources are limited, DEI is frequently the first to be deprioritized.
Most funding structures are 'transactional'
Underfunded before pandemic, now also understaffed.
Government and Philanthropy lack coordination.
Business engagements are still largely transactional, workforce professionals struggle to build relationship with employers that advance equity in the workplace
Filling open slots
Meeting outputs required by compliance or funding streams
Frontline workforce professionals are often forced to focus only on service delivery and are denied opportunities to influence programs to advance equity.
RESOURCES
[a bunch of links]
NEEDED SUPPORTS
Supervisors need support in helping develop/grow staff in their organizations
What role can philanthropy play to challenge scarcity mentality
Workforce Development apprenticeships
Certifications for workforce staff
Creating a pipeline for people to enter workforce development careers
Frontline staff recognize themselves in the industry and call themselves Workforce Development Professionals and not just their job titles
Connecting the "Theoretical" services that workforce development systems provide and the de-facto services actually provided.
New hires think their job is to help people, but soon describe their job as "pushing paperwork" and helping clients fill out forms.
my brain is absolutely melted and I will be taking a 'vacation' of sorts for a little while because I'm doing too much again and need to slow the fuck down. I've hit that point where I am doing WAY TOO MANY PROJECTS ALL AT ONCE, and will be taking some time off work next week. Strong support from my manager.
The issue is that I'm extremely good at 'hiding' my internal stress levels, because I am able to stay on top of everything through it all. All projects stay on time, to budget, and to specifications. All of them. So I get given more, and more, and keep kicking ass on all of them.
But now I'm better at recognizing that my clogs are about to pop and am overworking myself.
None of them good.