FCM Blog

Workforce Investment Lands on 60 MinutesOutstanding Story – Elevator Speech Needs Work

Major kudos to Joe Carbone, executive director of The WorkPlace in Bridgeport, CT who was highlighted on Scott Pelley’s 60 Minutes segment on Sunday. A huge congratulations to Joe for his innovative work to raise private sector and non-formula WIA funding to launch an innovative program to put the chronically unemployed back to work.

There were so many amazing components to this package:

• The facts pertaining to the epidemic rates of high unemployment.
• Joe’s passion about the mission of workforce development.
• The human interest stories that were generated by the program.
• The results of the program and the profound changes seen in the participants.
• The professionalism of Joe’s team and the program.
• The engagement of the private sector to fund the innovative programs.
• The response to the story.

Awesome job Joe and team! This package can no doubt be leveraged to help workforce stakeholders across the country build a business case for why the workforce investment system is needed, and how it innovates to find solutions to major workforce challenges. The fact that Joe is funded, in part by WIA, demonstrates clearly that workforce investment boards across the country leverage this funding to get the right stakeholders and supporters to the table for these types of innovations.

Now, the one down side — and, I cringe at even bringing one drop of rain on this fabulous accomplishment, but here it is.

At one point in the package, Scott Pelley describes The Workplace as a “the state unemployment office in southwest Connecticut where people get job training and placement help.” As stakeholders in the workforce system, we have to be hyper-vigilant about consistently describing the workforce investment system, so that America understands that workforce investment boards and one-stop career centers are part of a national network funded by WIA.

What are the benefits for having a consistent descriptor for the workforce investment system?

A consistent descriptor:

1. helps lift the confusion about the programs that are associated with WIA funding;
2. showcases how WIA funded programs are leveraging funds and relationships to develop broad-based innovations;
3. identifies the broad reach across the country of system stakeholders;
4. lets funders know the caliber of organizations associated with WIA funding; and
5. builds a business case for WIA funded programs and services.

So what should be the consistent message? Here’s my two cents.

The [insert name of organization] is part of the workforce investment system that is funded by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) which authorizes more than 550 local business-led workforce investments boards (WIBs) that oversee workforce development services through a network of 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers. Through WIA, local civic, business and workforce development leaders develop strategies that leverage funding and resources within their local communities to prepare and match the skills of workers with the workforce demands of companies. For more information, go to www.WorkforceInvestmentWorks.com.

What are your suggestion/edits? Please weigh in so that we can agree on our “universal elevator speech” and start leveraging and benefiting from every single positive media story, blog and/or social media posts that pertains to WIA funded programs.

Wake up Workforce Investment Boards (WIB)U.S. DOE Report States WIBs “Frequently Ineffective”

In October 2010, President Obama and second lady Jill Biden convened the first White House Summit on Community Colleges to highlight the role of community colleges in preparing students for success in the 21st century knowledge economy. The Summit convened federal policymakers and key community college constituent groups—trustees, college presidents, administrators, faculty, students, major associations, employers, foundations and industry leaders. Following this initial meeting, four regional community college summits took place in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), the office of Jill Biden, the American Association of Community Colleges, the Association of Community Colleges Trustees, and Skills for America’s Future. More than 800 leaders from 45 states participated in the regional summits that took place between February and April 2011, and focused on institutional-level action.

Summit participants discussed many topics, including ways that engagement between community colleges and business and industry fail to have the desired impact. The report sites that both sides often rely upon workforce investment boards, “which are frequently ineffective”. Participants also noted that commitments between businesses and community college programs are often partial and transitory because of the lack of involvement by trustees and others within the institutional community.

There are many examples of workforce investment boards and community colleges working effectively out of their silos to meet the market demands of business and industry. This is yet another wake up call to highlight these innovations and successes. The National Association of Workforce Boards has developed an excellent introduction video highlighting the work of the WIBs and community colleges.

Get your successes and innovations posted now at NAWB’s campaign site, www.WorkforceInvestmentWorks.com

The DOE’s full January 2012 report - Scaling the Community College Summits: Challenges, Solutions, and Commitments - can be viewed at http://1.usa.gov/zB3tlV.

Susan G. Komen - - No, she didn’t?!Breaking Sacred Rule #1 of Social Marketing

Bowing to anti-choice pressure, breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure has faced an escalating uproar over its decision to cut breast screening grants to Planned Parenthood. According to MoveOn, Planned Parenthood health centers are often the main source of health care for women in underserved communities, providing 830,000 breast exams every year—170,000 of these were funded through Komen, along with 6,400 mammogram referrals. The grants totaled $680,000 last year.

And the result….Komen has been bombarded with negative press, emails and Facebook posts, since the story broke. This is a clear cut case of breaking one of the sacred rules of social marketing—thy must align thyself with thine’s cause.

Komen has done a tremendous amount of work in raising money and improving awareness about breast cancer. To pull funding from a partner that provides screening and early detection to those that don’t have access to services is a complete disconnect from the organization’s mission.

For more information on social marketing basics, go to www.FullCapacityMarketing.com

Response to Reno Gazette Journal: Blasting the Workforce Investment Act

A recent op-ed in the Reno Gazette Journal blasts Senator Patty Murray for supporting the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in her new role as a congressional super committee member assigned to deliver $1 trillion in spending cuts.  What is disconcerting is an opinion that all spending is wasteful—particularly funding that supports the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).

First, the op-ed points that hit the mark.

The article calls for a repeal of thousands of federal workplace regulations that drive up employer costs. Yes, businesses are the risk takers and clearly need more incentives and fewer regulations so that they can create jobs. This is a completely separate issue from investing in a system funded through WIA that is led by businesses who have their pulse on their local economies and the workplace skills and labor talent needed to help them grow and achieve success.

The op-ed misses the mark.

The article states that the WIA is yet another federal "jobs training" program that attempts to teach unemployed poor and minority people basic workplace skills and that they system offers training just for general skills (how to write a resume, how to dress for work, how to show up on time) without focusing on specialized fields in demand. What?

Here are the facts on WIA.

The WIA authorizes more than 550 local business-led workforce investments boards (WIBs) that cover all fifty states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Territories to oversee workforce development services through a network of 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers. Over 12,000 businesses across America serve on these boards and are the decision makers around workforce strategies within their local communities—that’s 12,000 businesses that have the pulse on the employment and training needs within their unique markets to prepare and match the skills of workers with the global demands of companies that make the economy tick. 

The system is business driven.  These WIBs coordinate and leverage WIA funding to create high growth sector initiatives that address the prevailing skills gap — a gap that undeniably continues to widen.

Since 2008, enrollment in WIA programs has increased by 234% while funding has remained virtually unchanged. Over the past two years, over 8.5 million jobseekers have utilized federal employment and training services.  More than half – 4.3 million – found jobs through the system during that time.  There is clearly more going on in the system then teaching resume skills and how to show up for work.

There’s no doubt that Congress has to get a grip on spending. But let’s get clear on the facts so that the right cuts can occur and the right investments can continue.

Rapid Response Workgroup Discussion: Effective Outreach – Part 2: Virtual Communication Tools

Celina Shands Gradijan – President/CEO
Full Capacity Marketing, Inc.

Can you recommend cost-effective ways for employer outreach? This was a question posed by the Rapid Response Workgroup in a recent online meeting. The answer? Your website is one of the most important storytelling and engagement tools in your outreach arsenal. Yet, many workforce organizations are falling short in terms of harnessing the power of the Web, especially utilizing social media that can enhance collaboration and outreach efforts.

Our company is in the midst of conducting a Workforce Website Benchmark Study, and here are some of the challenges that we are identifying from the 80+ workforce websites that we’ve reviewed to date.

• 98% of the sites use jargon and unclear messaging (e.g. we’re funded by WIA).
• Only 2% of the sites have sections for their strategic workforce partners (e.g. economic development, education, industry).
• 75% have no call to action on how to engage further with the workforce organization.
• 82% do not have clearly defined products and services for its intended audiences.
• 67% have at least six or more logos on the site without explanation of the brand architecture and partner affiliations.
• 89% have dead links or links without explanation as to why the visitor should click them.
• Only 2% of sites track their site statistics.

Many of these issues can be overcome with the right process for redesigning (or designing) the site. Your first step is to get a baseline of how your website is currently performing and areas needed for improvement. We’ve created several free tools to help you do this including a Website Audit at http://bit.ly/e6AYY6; and a free ebook to walk you through how to make site improvements at http://bit.ly/gz8kfj.

Ditch the print items (or at least streamline them) and start harnessing the power of the Web. You can still sign up for the benchmark study at http://bit.ly/ftnEtf.

Next up - - social media.

Rapid Response Workgroup Discusses Effective Messaging and Outreach – Top 3 Strategies

Celina Shands Gradijan – President/CEO
Full Capacity Marketing, Inc.

Last week, I participated in a discussion around the best way to develop messages for Rapid Response, and the most cost-effective methods for outreach. Strategic communications is all about getting the right message to the right person at the right time; it’s not about some magic brochure or marketing piece that has a nice look and feel. In this day of instant and viral communication, your best toolkit contains three strategies: 1) the ability and right formula for developing good messages; 2) a well designed website with social media integration that can be updated frequently; and 3) a coordinated effort among outreach teams and subject matter experts to generate content and messages with the understanding of how to deliver them to target audiences (virtually, written format and one-to-one conversations). Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll tackle each of these topics individually.

Message Formula:

Messaging has to be tailored for each target audience (dislocated worker, employer, partner, etc), and contain three core components:

Urgency/Pain Points – Why should the target care about your services/mission? What pain points are you going to fix for the target?

Call to Action – What do you want the target to do specifically?

Value Proposition – If the target takes that action, what’s the benefit received?

Example:
Target Audience – Employers
Service Promoted – Rapid Response

Economic challenges in our area have forced over 25 companies to layoff employees (pain point/urgency). Downsizing staff is never an easy business decision (more pain), but (name of organization) can help ease the transition for affected employees by visiting the company to present information about services and next steps (value proposition). If downsizing is your only option left, let our professional team help make the layoff as smooth as possible (value proposition). Contact us for a complimentary consultation to view your options. (call to action).

Add to this, customer testimonials of employers who have used Rapid Response services, and you’ve got yourself a compelling message to use on your website, in presentations and collateral materials and one-to-one conversations. For the full PowerPoint presented to this Workgroup, go to http://bit.ly/fSloVg

Share your message strategies that have worked in your unique market. Next up……cost effective outreach through websites and social media.

Special WIA Budget EditionCommunication Tools: Fighting the Budget Cuts

While the House of Representatives has axed federal employment and training programs in its proposed budget, the debates in the Senate start next week. As the workforce investment system gears up to be heard, here are critical tools and action steps that each of you need to take to make your business case. Do not delay your action and share this with all of your customers, colleagues, friends and families.

Keep WIA Funding Alive: Virtual Petition
Sign the petition and share it with your customers, colleagues, family and friends through email and any social media tools.
Go to: www.thepetitionsite.com/5/keep-america-working/

WIA Facebook Cause Page
Join the WIA cause, and share it with your customers, colleagues, family and friends through email and any social media tools.
Go to: www.causes.com/causes/581031-workforce-investment-works-keeping-america-working?m=100d2498

Submit your existing workforce customer success stories, testimonials and innovations at the Workforce Investment Works campaign site. The Workforce Investment Works Campaign www.WorkforceInvestmentWorks.com is a storytelling website that demonstrates how the system has helped our customers, and is our collective voice to save WIA funding. Every workforce board and partner needs to register on the site and submit all of your customer success stories, customer quotes and any board innovations. This site is being shared with Congress this week and through a national media blitz. Register at:
www.workforceinvestmentworks.com/intranet/index.asp

WIA Funding & Campaign Alerts: Twitter
Get campaign updates by following us at http://twitter.com/WorkforceInvest

Want more information on the campaign? Go to www.WorkforceInvestmentWorks.com

Combating Bad Press: Tools for Workforce Professionals

Between the recent USA Today article and GAO report, the workforce system is in urgent need of building a business case to policy makers as to why our work is so valuable. Here are the tools that can help support your teams in doing so.

Workforce Investment Works National Workforce Campaign:
Showcase your organization’s brand in this national communications campaign—a simple storytelling website to help America understand the value propositions of the workforce investment system through success stories submitted by all workforce boards across the country. Use the campaign video, tutorials and other resources on the site to get your organization recognized nationally. Go to www.WorkforceInvestmentWorks.com.

Workforce Investment Works Online Briefing:
Explains the national Workforce Investment Works Campaign at: Telling Our Story.

Web Enhancement & Social Media Online Library:
Your Website is one of the most important storytelling and engagement tools in your outreach arsenal. Yet, many Websites developed by Workforce Investment System stakeholders are riddled with challenges. Take FCM’s Website Audit and download resources and tools to enhance your site at our Web Enhancement Library.

Workforce Investment Board (WIB) Website Benchmark Study:
FCM launches the first-ever WIB Website Benchmark Study to examine how workforce organizations utilize the web for outreach to job seekers, businesses, youth and key stakeholders. FCM will evaluate web traffic of study participants, along with survey data, to provide benchmarks for best practices in maximizing website performance. The study is open to WIBs, One-Stop Career Centers and partners of the workforce investment system. Go to Website Benchmark Study.

Questions on how to use the tools? Contact us at celina@fullcapacitymarketing.com.

It’s Time: A New Year - A New Website

The New Year is always an exciting time—fresh starts, revised resolutions, and new personal and business goals. I hope one of the goals on your “2011 hot list” is refreshing your organization’s website. Full Capacity Marketing, Inc. (FCM) recently conducted a master workshop session on social media. We actually reviewed close to 80 of the participants’ Websites, prior to the workshop. About 92% were not ready for social media. Why? Because their websites were a mess! Social media is about having conversations and getting people to take action. This action leads people back to your website for more information that should engage the visitor as a customer, partner, or funder.

The results of our evaluation were not promising and revealed common mistakes that FCM sees consistently throughout the country.

• 98% of the sites utilized jargon and unclear messaging
• Only 2% of the sites had sections for their strategic partners which is a missed opportunity to build relationships with key influencers
• 75% had no call-to-action
• 82% did not clearly define products and services for its intended audiences
• 94% had cumbersome site navigation that was not intuitive
• 67% had at least six or more logos on the site without explanation of the brand architecture and partner affiliations
• 89% had dead links or links without explanation as to why the visitor should click on them
• Only 2% of the sites tracked website statistics

When we asked workshop participants how they went about designing their websites, it was revealed that they a) did not use a defined roadmap; b) misunderstood the type of expertise required to build an effective site; and c) lacked the appropriate processes to understand their various target audience’s needs and then to deliver on those needs through site design, social media and other web-centric tools.

Your website is one of the most important storytelling and engagement tools in your communication and outreach arsenal. This year, FCM is on a mission to help you revamp your websites and get in the social media game. We just launched several free tools on our website to help you meet these goals.

Web Audit Tool – An online evaluation tool to determine how well your organization’s site aligns with effective Web development principles.

Web Enhancement Library - Build your knowledge about creating, launching and maintaining an effective Website.

Web Tutorials

      Getting Started: Creating a Dynamic Workforce Website
      Customer-Centric Web Building: Customers’ Opinions Count
      Targeted Messaging: Writing for the Web
      Website Design and Usability Testing
      Web Marketing: Using Social Media & Optimization Strategies
      Tracking Success: Keeping your Site Relevant & Current

Want a complimentary evaluation of your current website? Contact us at info@fullcapacitymarketing.com or call 858-793-6694. Download our free Web tutorials at our Web Enhancement Library

Let’s make it happen in 2011.

Workforce Investment Board (WIB) Website Benchmark Study

Do you know what website strategies and web best practices other workforce boards are implementing to attract the right stakeholders, customers, and funders?

FCM is launching the first ever Workforce Investment Board (WIB) Website Benchmark Study to examine how workforce organizations utilize the web for outreach to job seekers, businesses, youth and key stakeholders. FCM will examine the web traffic of study participants, along with survey data, to provide benchmarks for best practices in maximizing website performance. The study is open to WIBs, One-Stop Career Centers and partners of the workforce investment system.

Gain insight into how other workforce organizations:

• use social media tools
• automate their workforce processes
• generate fresh content
• generate leads
• optimize the website

A final report will be provided to participants, along with an analysis of your website’s traffic.

Take the survey at http://bit.ly/ftnEtf