Behavioural Insights on Youth Employment Services: Evidence from the UK

Gabriella CagliesiBusiness School, University of Greenwich

and Denise Hawkes

Doctoral School, UCL Institute of Education

The Job Centre

Is this what was intended?

The Job Centre Advisor• Active Labour Market Policy

wants the advisor to be active in equipping people for work. Providing relevant information required for jobs

• IS this the reality?• http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICBojdGMRFQ

• OFF FLOW INCENTIVE• Good advisor has high off flow

Introduction• Traditional analysis and interpretation of labour market:

– Presumption that people have a tendency to take “action”, by searching and wanting to work

– “Neoclassical” interpretation of decisions, based on cost/benefit analysis

• Such an approach is however challenged:– Evidence of clients who are either not willing or are unable to take up

employment support– Evidence of complexity of economic actions, resulting from the interplay of

economic considerations, psychological characteristics and the embeddedness of individuals in their social networks

• Reflecting on the services provided by the Job Centre for Young People in the UK:– Focusing on the how rather than the what should be done

Policy Environment• Looking at youth employment services (those age 18-24)• Youth contract provided the young job seeker weekly

appointments with a JC Plus advisor• More job search being undertaken online than before, through JC

Plus website and subcontractor• Increased use of sanctions in an attempt to bring down the levels

of unemployment benefit claiming• UK, EU wide, high levels of youth unemployment • Cabinet Office Nudge Unit (Behavioural Insights Team)• Babcock et al (2012) suggests labour economics could learn a lot

by looking at how active labour market policies are delivered rather than just that they are provided

Youth Unemployment in London at Time of Study

Number of initiatives removing individual obstacles to find employment

Training and soft skills developmentAccess to informationTax credit/Universal creditSupport for childcareApprenticeshipsYouth Contract

In spite of the success of these policies youth unemployment remains a relevant issue in UK and in London

Figure from http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/57296000/gif/_57296559_youth_unemp_london_464.gif

Initial Pilot Study

• 3 groups of young people studied (81 responses in total), to compare the characteristics of the young job seekers with our UG students and young people volunteering at a theatre workshop

• Suggested that it could prove fruitful to supplement the weekly advisor meetings with:– E-mails/text messages between visit– More focused support around CV development and application

preparation– Focus on the wording used in written documents and used by the

advisor, to present as opportunities rather than sanctions– Motivate the unemployed youth in terms of main life goal rather

than just to find a job

Potential Language Implications for Advisor Practice, from pilot

Proposed Policy Nudge

Example Policy Example

Motivate by positive feedback

Use positive feedback to encourage more active participation

how many jobs have you applied for

let’s reflect on this application together

Presenting Policy Engagement as an Opportunity

Present policy requirements as opportunities rather than punishments

you will do this as you have not found a job in six months

this placement will help you develop these skills

Build on Flexibility to Change

Motivate as opportunities as regrets strongest here

you must take this job

you don’t want to miss this chance

Potential Language Implications for Advisor Practice, from pilot

Proposed Policy Nudge

Example Policy Example

Motivate through use of main life goal

Main goal may not be a job, often found to be a home

you need a job this job will enable you to get that home you wanted

Promote better information & communication about jobs

Jobcentre Plus requires active engagement, try text messages of selected jobs

check out job centre plus on your way out

did you apply yet to that job texted to you on Thursday?

Highlight how they fit in the labour market

Demonstrate the roles they could play

location, industry, hours

this role matches you skills with people

Potential Language Implications for Advisor Practice, from pilot

Proposed Policy Nudge

Example Policy Example

Encourage responsibility

Enhance their use of personal and professional development skills

customer, client opportunity seeker

Utilize their active disposition towards social environment

Create a network to deliver positive influences

Individual job placements

group job placements

Stage 2: RCT Developed

• AIM: To investigate whether sending emails with local job vacancies and successful case studies to customers ages 18-24 has a greater impact on off flow rates than emails with generic vacancies or with email without case studies

• Off flow is leaving benefits not necessarily getting a job

– In collaboration with the Behavioural Insights Team

RCT Design

• 3 arm trial with customers randomly allocated to groups: – No email (Control Group)– Weekly email sent with "Hot jobs" (Generic Job

Vacancies in London)– Email sent with "Hot jobs" and a 2-line case study of a

local young person who successfully found a job (Generic Job Vacancies in London and Case Studies)

• e-mails sent for four weeks

Arm 2. Jobs email templateEmail Subject Header: JOBS ALERT from Woolwich JCP!

Email content: Non-Graduate jobs: · Van driver: PostFast Ltd, £19,000 per year, Ref No: 8967543. To apply, click here: www.monster.co.uk/jobs/8967543 · Security Guard: Bolt Security Services, £9.50/hr, Ref No: 98876B. To apply, click here: www.reed.com/vacancies/security/98876B · Customer Services Assistant: Next, £6.90/hr, Ref No: 1267936G. To apply click here: www.next.com/career/currentvacancies Graduate jobs:· Project Manager: Halkin Construction, £24,000 per year + bonus, Ref No. 7778876. To apply, click here: www.totaljobs.com/halkinconstruction · Data Analyst: DataForce, £11.50/hr, Ref No. AH7689. To apply, click here: To apply, click here: www.jobsite.co.uk/newvacancies/AH7689 · Marketing Assistant: Creavation, £23,000 per year, Ref No. 878889. To apply, click here: www.creavation.co.uk/careers

Arm 3. Jobs + motivational email template

Email Subject Header: JOBS ALERT from Woolwich JCP!Email content: Here are this week’s top job opportunities in Greenwich for you.Remember – statistics show that the more jobs you apply for, the quicker you’ll find the job you want, even if it’s not the first one you get. So, get started with your applications and if you need any help, just speak to your personal adviser.Non-Graduate jobs: · Van driver: PostFast Ltd, £19,000 per year, Ref No: 8967543. To apply, click here: www.monster.co.uk/jobs/8967543 · Security Guard: Bolt Security Services, £9.50/hr, Ref No: 98876B. To apply, click here: www.reed.com/vacancies/security/98876B · Customer Services Assistant: Next, £6.90/hr, Ref No: 1267936G. To apply click here: www.next.com/career/currentvacancies Graduate jobs:· Project Manager: Halkin Construction, £24,000 per year + bonus, Ref No. 7778876. To apply, click here: www.totaljobs.com/halkinconstruction · Data Analyst: DataForce, £11.50/hr, Ref No. AH7689. To apply, click here: To apply, click here: www.jobsite.co.uk/newvacancies/AH7689 · Marketing Assistant: Creavation, £23,000 per year, Ref No. 878889. To apply, click here: www.creavation.co.uk/careers Success story of the week: Last week Bill (20 years old) got a job as an office assistant in Greenwich after just 8 weeks out of work. And he’s now on £3,000 more than his last job!Good luck! PaulDigital Champion, Woolwich Job Centre

Additional features of arm 3 - 1

Here are this week’s top job opportunities in Greenwich for you.Remember – statistics show that the more jobs you apply for, the quicker you’ll find the job you want, even if it’s not the first one you get. So, get started with your applications and if you need any help, just speak to your personal adviser.

• Highlighting the support available at the job centre and trying to motivate then to apply, highlighting the opportunities they could be missing

Additional features of arm 3 - 2

Success story of the week: Last week Bill (20 years old) got a job as an office assistant in Greenwich after just 8 weeks out of work. And he’s now on £3,000 more than his last job!Good luck! PaulDigital Champion, Job Centre• Additional feature attempting to make finding a job likely,

following pilot suggesting many did not feel this way• Personalisation by having Paul sign it off with a good luck

message

Off Flow impact

• 143/250 (57%)in the personalised group flowed off.• 41/250 (16%) in the non-personalised group flowed off.• 76/250 (30%)in the control group flowed off.

• Needed to having attendance data to confirm this but anecdotal evidence from the advisors suggested this is the case (latent variable attendance possible)

• Timing of the study, just after the Olympics and New TESCO (maybe affected feelings of respondents)

Click Rate Results

Reflection on results• Points to reflect on:

– The trial took place just after the London Olympics, the Borough of Greenwich was one of the host boroughs and indeed in Woolwich the shooting venues were held

– The trial took place just after a super TESCO store opened• Although both recruited staff before the trial, many would have had temporary

posts for the Olympics and have encouragement in the new TESCO opening, possibly affecting job search focus and engagement with the personalised e-mail

– The trial took place with young people, who are possibly more likely to engage with e-mail prompts than older workers

– Lack of attendance to weekly meeting data problem, could be personalised e-mail helped to prompt attendance to job centre, therefore improved job search from better engagement

Initial Studies Conclusion• Pilot Study– Suggests a range of testable ideas in how best to deliver

job centre services, including motivating by main life goal and focusing on opportunities rather than threats

• First RCT at Woolwich– Possible benefit of e-mail in addition to face-to-face Job

Centre Service, especially when e-mail is personalised– Focus on young people a benefit here– Lack of attendance data makes measure of engagement

difficulty

Second Round at the Job Centre

• Returning to Woolwich and Eltham• Focus on the job advisors – STAGE 1 a survey of job centre advisors

• their perceptions of a good advisor• exploring mapping the network of advisors• Exploring behavioural insights motivating advisors and their

views on these insights for young people

– STAGE 2 RCT working with advisors on language used with young people in meeting to work on the Identity of the Job Centre

– STAGE 3 Explore future the use of technology to support job search

The Future of the Job Centre?• Job Centre Model in its current form is rather limited for those

18-24• Focus on a face-to-face weekly meeting does not match with

their previous educational experience:– Lacking support in the face-to-face to actually help them with

applications– No real online support between sessions

• Work Programme substitute?• Career Advice?• Suggested direction of research is to look at setting "reasonable

expectations" to get and to keep a job, modifying the "historical perception" of the Job centre and create new identity

Thank you for listening to my Job

Centre AdventureDr Denise Hawkes

UCL Institute of Education

Thank you for listening to my Job Centre AdventureDr Denise HawkesUCL Institute of Educationd.hawkes@ioe.ac.uk