AUGUST 13,, 2014

Building Business Partnerships to Increase Employment Opportunities: It’s All About Relationships!

Presenters:Howard Green, VP NOD

.

30-year-old nonprofit with a focus on

employment for people with disabilities

FOCUS Increase employment opportunity and

economic self-sufficiency for working-age Americans

with disabilities.

CAROL GLAZER

NOD PRESIDENT

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, STEVEN

TINGUS & NOD FOUNDER ALAN REICH

MISSION Expand

the participation and

contribution of the 57 million

Americans with disabilities in

all aspects of life.

NOD has built an array of advisory services and networking opportunities for companies

that are interested in taking a leadership role in the disability cause

New regulations for federal contractors require

companies to improve disability hiring

Goal:

7% of workforce

comprised of

individuals with

disabilities

Measure and

document

progress

Analyze efforts

Requirement to

track and

document efforts

towards

compliance

Key Pieces of the Regulation

Employers set

goals for hiring

people with

disabilities and

veterans

Annual analysis of

disability hiring and

utilization;

development of

corrective action

plans

OFCCP hiring goal for talent with disabilities – the race is on to find that talent pipeline!

• Impacting Federal contractors and subcontractors with contracts of $50,000 or more

• 7% of all staff (starting with new hires) should be employees with disabilities

• New Recruitment Efforts (document & report)

– List all job openings with the nearest Employment One-Stop Career Center;

– Enter into a linkage agreement with the nearest State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency or local organization listed in the Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work Employment Network; and

– Establish an additional linkage agreement with at least one disabled veterans’ service organizations listed

• Self identification & Data Collection

– When applying for a position;

– After an offer is received, but before employment begins; and

– Annually, for all employees

– Five year retention reporting requirements

• Record Keeping

– Annually evaluate physical and mental qualification standards and compliance with utilization goals. Personnel involved in recruitment, hiring, promotion, disciplinary and related processes must be trained annually and the contractor must keep records on annual training related to disability hiring

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Why is successful disability hiring critical?

Increasingly consumers

reward corporate social

responsibility, of which diversity

hiring is a key component

DOL’s ruling sets a required

goal for federal contractors

that employees with disabilities

account for 7% of workforce

503 will require contractors to

engage in active oversight of

their hiring and utilization of

people with disabilities and

make changes if not making

progress towards goals

Accommodating a steadily aging

workforce and growing veteran

population will be a key challenge

for many companies

Many employers have

documented improved

employee engagement,

across their workforce

Corporate

Value

at Stake

Corporate

Social

Responsibility

503

Ruling

Compliance

Documented

Success

Aging

Workforce

& Veterans

What do think of his list of accomplishments?

• B.A Mathematics –June 2007• B.A Economics – June 2007 ( Honors)• M.S Mathematics – January 2010• Work Experience

– Hamilton Lane Advisors –Summer Intern (May-August 2006

– Statman Analyst Research Intern – Feb,2010-June2010– Blackfeather Enterprises LLC (telecommute) July-August

2011– Skills- C++ Perl, Python, VBA, MATLAB, SPSS, AMOS,

SRATA,LATEX, LexisNexis, Access, SQL, MySQL, Power Point, Excel, ASP, Ajax PHP

– Certification – CMFS, Six Sigma Green Belt Lean/DFSS– Senior Class Treasurer

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• OVER PAST FIVE YEARS THIS CANDIDATE HAS…– TWO DEGREES– APPLIED FOR SEVERAL HUNDRED

POSITIONS– 100 INTERVIEWS(HOURS OF

APPLICATIONS WORK)– NOT A SINGLE JOB OFFER– BUSINESSES AND GOVERNMENT

• Lack of exposure to disability• Lack of internal structure from

businesses to move candidates with disabilities beyond the initial interview.

• Outside placement groups unable to help.

Meet the candidate…

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To increase employment of people with disabilities we need to focus on two customers

Customers Descriptions

1 People with Disabilities Assist people with disabilities to gain access to work opportunities!

2 Businesses Assist businesses with recruiting, hiring & retaining homeless and veterans with disabilities in employment!

In order to successfully manage both relationships you need a strong connection and understanding of employer workforce needs and wants

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Why is the Bridges to Business Model needed?

Company Quotes/Feedback

Employer #1 “I wanted to hire workers with disabilities and agreed to work with a local agency but it took too long for them to find any candidates.”

Employer #2 “I wish I had a real community partner who understood my needs and wanted to meet my objectives --- not theirs!”

Employer #3 “ It seems my company has to go looking for the partners in the community, and it is confusing. It would be nice to work with one organization that would manage this for us.”

Employer #4 “I expect more people with disabilities could secure employment if more programs worked together.”

Employer #5 “We worked with an agency but they couldn’t deliver the talent and when we expressed frustration, they said they couldn’t really help us and then we never heard from them again.”

Employer #6 “Help, where do I start? I need help navigating the system.”

Employer Feedback

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Doing Business the old way….

One Person/One Job

Low Expectations for candidates

Not Able/ Willing to managerelationships

Not Tracking the Right Info

A candidate is placed

Loader

Cashier Analyst

BIZ

The Job Placement Model

The job placement model typically identifies a single employer and matches a single candidate or multiple candidates of the

same skill set

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Doing business the new way…

11

A Candidate Pipeline is Developed

PWD

PWD PWD

PWD

PWDPWD

BIZ

BIZ

BIZ

BIZ

The Business Development Model allows for a systematic approach of building relationships with many businesses which can result in

many job opportunities

1. Marketing /Business Development & Relations – (See the employer as a customer)

2. Identify Business Needs and Learn their Culture

3. Implement a Strategy to Meet Business Needs

4. Maintain Networks with Business

The Business Development Model

Cultivating employer relationships will yield a greater number of job types and placements

Job Placement Model

Loader

Cashier Analyst

Business Development Model

PWD

PWD PWD

PWD

PWDPWD

BIZ

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BIZ

BIZ

BIZ

BIZ

An adjustment in the approach to working with employerswill enable you to satisfy your placement goals and the employers

to meet their business objectives and hiring needs

Win/Win

Know what you need – know what you can offer: Questions to ask…

• Demand (Employer) Side:

Do they have a diversity plan & does it include disability?

Do they have a disability program & is someone assigned to manage it?

Do they set targets to hire candidates with disabilities?

Do they have an accommodation policy & is it centralized?

Do they offer training on disability to their employees?

Do they have a community partner(s) to help with sourcing positions?

Is the partnership working & reaping benefits

Do they track things like production, retention, cost per hire, safety etc?

• Supply (Service Provider) Side:

Do they have a strategic plan for addressing business needs?

Do they have a data base to track their business relations? Do they track their success and offer to track information for the business?

Do they offer disability training?

Do they assign a business manager to the business?

Do they have resources & networks beyond their organization.

Do they have a pipeline of candidates to meet the appropriate needs of a specific business?

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Steps to Building a Relationship & Value

Build Your Network

Quality Service Trust Relationship Added Value

Providers

need to start

networking &

talking with

businesses.

First step in

building

relationships is

meeting the

right people

and making

sure you know

their needs and issues.

Once you havemet & decided to try to meet the business needs you need to provide top quality services.

If you don’t deliver a quality service, the business will go to another vendor.

If you are providingquality services & the business can depend on you being responsive, dependable and trustworthy then you create trust.

The business needs to trust you before they hire your company or people.

Once you demonstrate you can deliverand be trusted then you have a relationship and will be seen as a partner. If you are

willing to go the extra mile, deliver quality services and meet the needs then you will continue as a partner and have a great relationship.

Quality services, being responsive to the demands of the business, building trust and contributing to the bottom line are adding value to the business.

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1 2 3 4 5

Employers are also beginning to set new expectations from their partners

Understand business needs (job types, salary, benefits & skill sets)

Establishment of contracts

Clearly defined roles & responsibilities

Frequently onsite

Same standards, same expectations

Same timelines and deliverable criteria

Companies might request MOU’s

And many are asking for NDA’s to ensure confidentiality

Deliver what you say – if you can’t –fix it or make recommendations

Service ProvidersAs Vendors

Service ProvidersAs employees

Accountable &

Confidential

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Business Needs & Concerns

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Business Needs Descriptions

Policies, procedures & training

Understand what is impacting companies (Legislation,applicable state laws)

How will the company implement the new policies? And how will they affect the population you serve?

What can you help them with? Do they need training?

Finding the right partner to source candidates

Employers are often overwhelmed by the number and type of agencies

Agencies need to understand the types of talent needed, the numbers needed, and where to find that talent

Identifying candidates & establishing the pipeline

Typically employers want to know they can hire more than 3-5 candidates

Establishing a pipeline whether through other agencies or training that talent within is critical

Metrics (we can’t say it enough)

Measure what is important to employers (performance, attendance, sales etc.)

90 days does not make success – track beyond it – even with a phone call

Move from Rehabilitation Language to Business Language

• Rehabilitation

Clients

Rehabilitation Agency

Follow -up

Service Provider

Job coaching

persons with disabilities

• Business

Candidates, Applicants or

employees

Employment Agency

Retention Services

Vendor/Sourcing Agency

Supports & Training on the Job

Candidates with skills

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Issues for consideration…

• Corporate culture is critical for success

• Focus on the employer needs

• Businesses have a different timetable –respect it

• Employers are still fearful

• Your expertise is needed

• Companies want to expand diversity

• You are their resource

Disability is

DiversityTraining

CultureUrgency

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Getting prepared is critical

• See the business as your customer

• Sell your services – know what you can offer

Marketing

• Take tours/onsite visits

• What are the jobs they recruit for

Know/Learn the Business

• Present the employer with a plan to work together

• Put it in writing

Strategy Design

• Work with your community partners

• Meet as many people in the organization as possible

Build/Maintain Networks

• Know what the employer needs and deliver it

• Touch base frequently in many cases a phone call is enough to stay connected

Relationship Management

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It is important to understand marketing and its/your goals

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Marketing

What is marketing? An activity that satisfies the needs and wants of the customer through an exchange process

Win/Win Basic to the process – each party should valued goods or services

Goals

1. Expansion of your business networks2. Job Placements3. Customer Satisfaction

Elevator Speech

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Elevator Speech Components

What is it?

How do you craft it?

What are some key words?

What makes it NOT good?

Things to consider in your elevator speech

• Does your introduction create a business image or social service?

• Does it reflect what you do and why they should work with you?

• Does it show your relationships to other business partners?

• Does it show your uniqueness from other providers?

• Does it talk about next steps and follow-up?

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What are Some Themes?• Good Morning! I am __ and I work for a local staffing

firm. • We focus on supporting employer workforce diversity

efforts.• We work with businesses to connect them with

qualified applicants based on their staffing needs.• I have been looking at your company’s

diversity/community/volunteerism/corporate giving focus and understand that this is important to your organizational culture.

• I would like to find out more about your business needs and how we can support them.

• Do you have some time this week we can meet?

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Identifying the Employers to target is the first step

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Identify a top 50employers list

Review chamber lists, contact local SHRM offices

Who’s in the news?

What industries are on the rise?

Identify federal contractors

Expand an existing relationship

Learn about thebusiness

What are the jobs types?

What are the skill sets they need?

Are they hiring?

What are their trends? (e.g. peak seasons)

Do they have a diversity plan and does it include disability?

HomeworkPg. 10

Prospecting and targeting businesses

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Prospecting

Set your

objectives

Details

• Set goals to meet people on your target company list

• Know the business needs and how you will approach you

• Practice your elevator speech

• Share marketing materials/info

Schedule a time, Set a Priority to prospect new

Businesses

• Prioritize your list

• Work your plan

• Follow up and follow through

• Keep informed on your prospect list – companies may shift

up or down on your priority list based on their business

needs

Attempt to do one per week

Prospecting and Targeting…cont.

STEPS

1. Make a list of Businesses That Would Make GOOD Partners!

2. Identify Businesses by Size and Industry

3. Develop a System to Collect Data &

4. Maintain Business Files

Prioritize the Lista) Immediate contact

b) Soon as you finish the immediate

c) As soon as possible

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DO’s & DON’TS --- don’t get confused

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What NOT to do!

Don’t ask employers to change their jobs (they can change the “how” not the “what”)

Don’t try to sell them skills or talent they don’t need

Don’t say – that’s not my job. If it’s not your job, find someone who can help them

Don’t get too involved in the rehab system – they won’t understand it and in many cases won’t care

What you SHOULD do!

Get to know the business --- ask a lot of questions (hours, salary, skills needed, education, background checks, training, where is their flexibility etc.)

Under-promise and over-deliver

Develop a data base & tracking system.

Be accountable – if something isn’t working, fix it. And if you can’t fix it, demonstrate you have tried everything to solve the problem

Ask them to help you with other company connections

Train, Train, Train and train again

Basic Questions to Ask – what you should do…

• Where are they located locally, nationally?• Mission/Goals of the business• What is their history, have they been here a year or

twenty? (Growth expectations)• How many employees do they have?• What is their annual turnover?• How many people do they expect to hire and when?• Name of contact(s) – HR, Hiring Managers, Recruiters• Do they have a diversity/disability plan• Have they worked with people with disabilities

before? How did it go?• Needs of business & specific items

(culture) unique to that business

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Getting to know

Company XYZ

Businesses tell us the best way to be approached …

Understand my business

Connect with local managers –make an appointment to explain your program and its benefits

Never make a cold call- have your ducks in a row with a clear purpose in mind for your visit

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And what they expect from service providers

Become my business partner! Understand my business! (We can’t say this enough)

Learn my needs and look for creative solutions to meet them. Also, believe your applicant can do the work.

Demonstrate you know about accommodations and how to work with individuals with disabilities.

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Utilize the communication preferences of the employer to

market your organizationE-mail link with a short video or include business on your e-newsletter list

Or send a one page fact sheet – provide quantitative data –employers love data!

Submit a plan to the business showing the business benefits of having you as a partner.

Tell them what you will do and commit to doing it

Become a part of the business – develop ways to stay connected even when business is not hiring.

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Work your brand

75% of all jobs are securedthrough networking

Utilize social media such as Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook

Develop your list and set yourpriorities

Get face time!Show up prepared.

Join local networking eventsAnd opportunities!

1

2

3

4

5

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Building Your Data Base – WHY??

Tracks Your Business

Connections

Helps New Staff

Demonstrates Value and Shows

Your Commitment

Increases Your Credibility With

Business

Development of Reports & Planning

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Making It Work -

Assign Staff To Enter Data & Keep Fresh

Use The Data Captured For

Training, Reports, etc

Make Sure Staff Sees

the Benefits and Value

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NOD developed Bridges to Business to link

Employers with a pipeline of Candidates with

disabilities

SUPPLY DEMAND

Job CandidatesRegional Service

Providers

Disconnect between Corporations &

Service Providers

Corporations Hiring at Distribution,

Retail, and Office Sites

SAMPLE BRIDGES CLIENTS

Understanding business objectives is at the heart of the Bridges to Business model

Employer as Business Partner

Assess & Align with business objectives

Business Relationship Management

Utilize Local Resources (one stops,

VR)

Metrics

Identify employer needsEstablish/continue relationship

Learn about their businessWhat are they doing in the

next 6-18 monthsIdentify how you can help

Tell them how you can help Outline what you can do Follow up early and often

If you can’t deliver what theyneed – utilize your networkDeliver what you promised!

Measure your successesAsk for feedbackChange course as needed

Bridgesto

Business

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Outcome Nuggets From theBridges to Business Model

Businesses want to work

with a preferred

vendor

Businesses need a partner

to help manage the

business/disability

relationship

BUSINESSES NEEDS A

PARTNER TO TRACK THE DATA AND PROGRESS.

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN A SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT AND A

PARTNER FOR THE BUSINESS.

Businesses do not know how

to find the pipeline of candidates

with disabilities

Single Point of Contact vs. a Valued Partner

What it looks like…

SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT VALUED PARTNER

Driven by VR or an Employment

Services Provider.

One-sided expectations from

Supply side.

Willing to source candidates from

their caseloads only.

Services to businesses are

provided on a short term basis and

driven by funding for a particular

person with a disability.

Driven by the Business and their

needs.

Mutual understanding of roles and

expectations.

Willing to work with other

rehabilitation programs in the

community to find the talent for

businesses

Services to businesses are seen as

on-going and built on a business

relationship.

PROMISING BUSINESS PRACTICEWalgreens– Distribution and retail stores Lowes – 14 Distribution Centers –

expanding in their retail stores

Bank of America – Using their experience in Delaware to expand to other markets

Sodexo- leader in Diversity and in the top ten in hiring people with disabilities,

Safeway – uses an internal champion to increase hiring.

Starbucks - Distribution Centers and Roasting Plants

AMC Theatres – Working to improve their ability to recruit and hire as well as working job coaching guidelines. Over 1000 new hires in 350 + theatres.

Macy’s exploring hiring initiative in retail and distribution centers.

Best Buy – Using the Walgreens model in their distribution centers- some of their stores have a program for individuals who are deaf.

Kroger- working to expand their retail and start hiring in their Distribution Centers

Office Max- Creating jobs in Distribution Centers – NV, IL, MD & AL

Toys R Us – expanding their hiring in their distribution centers.

Example of Bridges Work -Timelines for

Engagement NOD interviews organizations for potential partners and recommends :several for 2nd

interviews by companies such as :Lowes, JB Hunt, Kroger, Sodexo, PECO, Toys “R” Us

NOD, Provider and

company met to review

Roles and

Responsibilities; reviews

companies needs. CO

learned requirements &

started selecting potential

candidates.

Developed on-boarding

process for partnership;

job coaches selected and

trained at Companies;

scheduled interviews &

onboarding candidates.

Provider & Companies

started meeting regularly

to build trust and

communication process;

NOD scheduled bi-

weekly calls to review

progress.

Started expanding to

different departments &

screening additional

candidates.

Candidates started

working and learning job

with assistance from job

coaches; feedback on

productivity &

assessment of program

continued. Additional

departments were added.

Continued to fill positions

and expanded

opportunities into other

areas of business

Candidates hired and

continued on-going

communication between

Provider and Companies

representatives.

April & May June & July September & October November & December

Interviewed for Lead

Partner with

companies attended

Disability Awareness

training; tour company,

.

Partnership Roles

Business

• Based on input from NOD, Provider was selected as

Lead Partner

• Staff participated in Disability Awareness Training

• Companies identified labor needs for Distribution

Centers and other sites

• Provided tour and training for Provider staff and job

coaches

• Provided on-going and continuing communication with

Provider staff

Provider.

• Participated in Disability Awareness Training at Companies

• Screened candidates for positions at Companies

• Marketed the programs to other community providers ( VR,

Veterans(DVOP) DDS)

• Selected candidates for interview and prepared Companies

• Job coaches provided necessary training and on-going

accommodation advice to Companies

• Tracked progress data and shared with Companies staff and

management

• Participated in bi-weekly calls with Companies and NOD

Partnership Roles

Nuggets Learned from Partnership

• Assignment of a Project Manager to business partner is

critical

• Providers learned the needs of business (importance of

background checks)

• Flexibility of business as well as provider to ensure

success in matching candidates to positions

• Co-worker’s productivity increases

• Continuous building of pipeline

What Do We Need To Do?

Turn Our Thinking Upside Down!

• Don’t push supply; Deliver to Demand!

• Become more effective with business customers

by operating more like a business person.

• Think of the business as the customer.

• What is the benefit to the business in hiring this

person? Bottom Line!

• Develop business relationships.

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Business Relationship Essentials

Believe in yourself & your value to business.

Be responsive and follow through.

Commit to producing results for the business.

Deliver to the relationship.

Become their ‘go-to’ person.

Be the leader and build a network of others to deliver the

pipeline.

Set metrics and establish bi-weekly follow up meetings.

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Business Relationship Essentials

Build trust.

Willingness to network with other community providers

Earn and maintain their trust.

Send only job ready, qualified, good candidates.

It’s not job placement. It’s meeting a business need and

developing a business relationship.

It is all about the Business – not about you and your

organization!

Summary - Action items to ensure success

Sourcing for TalentRelationship Development

Training1 2 3

Provide information and or training to the new partner on expectations (e.g. resumes, basic skills qualifications etc. this will take some time – they are not like traditional sources)

Identify potential opportunities for the agency to train

Explore financial and other incentives that are available from the agency (e.g. tax incentives)

Additional Community Partners

4

If one agency can’t deliver the recruits request they coordinate or assist you in reaching other appropriate agencies in community

Understand the business services offered by the agency

Ensure the agency understands your business and business needs

Identify a relationship manager, or project manager that will coordinate activities

Provide expectations to agency regarding types and numbers of positions

Create a process for disseminating job search information

Request agency track the number of individuals referred for positions and number of individuals hired, as well as tenure

Work together to ensure appropriate accommodations are made

Questions?

Resources

Contact:

Howard Green, NOD, greenh@nod.org / www.nod.org

Websites:

• DOL FAQs regarding regulations for individuals with disabilities: http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/faqs/503_faq.htm

• DOL FAQs regarding regulations for protected veterans: http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/faqs/VEVRAA_faq.htm

• Kessler Foundation/NOD Survey of Employment of Americans with Disabilitieshttp://nod.org/assets/downloads/01-2011_Exec_Summary.pdf

• Employment Resources: http://nod.org/disability_resources/employment_resources/

• http://nod.org/what_we_do/consultation/bridges

For more information on the Disability Employment Tracker, visit www.nod.org/tracker

To register to take the Disability Employment Tracker, email tracker@nod.org