JUNE 23, 2015

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

Presenters:Howard Green, VP NODPhiladelphia, PaAPSE CONFERENCE.

30-year-old nonprofit with a focus onemployment for people with disabilities

FOCUS Increase employment opportunity and economic self-sufficiency for working-age Americans with disabilities.

CAROL GLAZERNOD PRESIDENT

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, STEVEN TINGUS & NOD FOUNDER ALAN REICH

MISSION Expandthe 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

Doing Business the Old Way!

Community Rehabilitation

Providers

Business Needs & Concerns

Businesses

DOING BUSINESS A NEW WAYMARKETING YOUR ORGANIZATION! SEE THE BUSINESS AS A CUSTOMER – Assign a person to manage the relationship!

IDENTIFY THE BUSINESS NEEDS AND LEARN THEIR WAY OF DOING THINGS. TAKE TOURS AND OFFER ASSISTANCE TO HELP WITH THEIR DIVERSITY AND DISABILITY PLANNING.

IMPLEMENT A STRATEGY TO MEET THE BUSINESS NEEDS. PRESENT THE BUSINESS A PROPOSAL OF WORKING TOGETHER. Build networks with other community rehabilitation programs to ensure you have the pipeline.

BUILD AND MAINTAIN BUSINESS NETWORKS! Begin to track data for the business!

PROVIDE QUALITY SERVICES AND IT IS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS, AND MORE RELATIONSHIPS! Move beyond the one placement idea.

Steps to Building a Relationship & Value

DIALOGUE QUALITY OF SERVICES

FRIENDSHIP & TRUST

RELATIONSHIP ADDED VALUE TO THE BUSINESS

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 have met & 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 providing quality services & the business can depend on you being responsive, dependable and trustworthy then you create a friendship and trust. The business needs to trust you before they hire your company or people.

Once you can show you can deliver and can 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.

Company Quotes/Employer 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.”

Why is the Bridges to Business Model needed?

Company Quotes/Employer Feedback

Employer #7 “I thought the biggest issue would be that the candidates would not be productive but the biggest problem was “finding a PARTNER to help me”.

Employer #8 “I tried to find a partner but it took me forever and I almost gave up”.

Employer #9 “ How do I know if a provider or rehabilitation agency is a good provider”?

Employer #10 “Why don’t the local providers work together to help businesses and candidates with disabilities?

Employer #11 “Is it okay to fire a job coach?

Employer #12 “ I thought it would be easy to do this but I learn that most organizations are only worried about their needs and not mine”.

Why is the Bridges to Business Model needed?

Know what you need…Know what to ask…

Demand (Employer) Side: Do you have a diversity plan & does it

include disability? Do you have a disability program & is

someone assigned to manage it? Do you set targets to hire candidates with

disabilities? Do you have an accommodation policy &

is it centralized? Do you offer training on disability to their

employees? Do you have a community partner(s) to

help with sourcing positions? Is the partnership working & reaping

benefits Do you 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?

Single Point of Contact vs. a Valued Partner What it looks like…

SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT VALUED PARTNER

Driven by rehabilitation agency 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.

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

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

represenatives.

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

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

Modeled after Walgreens

Giant Eagle – creating an internal focus to work with community rehabilitation agency and providers

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

Safeway – uses an internal champion to increase hiring.

Wal-Mart/Sam’s- Working to increase their hiring and developing a consortium in NW Arkansas with their vendors.

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.

CVS – moving to hire more in their 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.

When your boss asked what did you learn? Tell them this

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Here is what you can tell him/her: Tracking is IMPORTANT! – Create a data base of business relations (not just

counting placements. Best Practices Abound – Provider organizations are more effective all across the US

when they partner with each other. Contact NOD about employers in your industry who are actively involved in disability employment.

Know where you Are: An internal audit is key to understanding opportunities for development or expansion of business development.

OFCCP is here: Impacting federal contractors initially -- Companies outside the federal contractor space are also staring initiatives.

Get Started/ Align with your business – Ensure your business development programs align with business/organization’s objectives. Don’t create your business development that is “nice to do” create one that is a “need to do”.

It is all about the message and relationships. Consider changing from being know as a “placement counselor” to a “talent connector”.

NOD’s top 10 list for companies with steps to create or evolve their programs

1. Understand people with disabilities can be a viable part of your workforce (if you don’t believe it now, get training, see it in action)

2. Know what you want your program to be, what will it look like, what will make it unique to your company?

3. Conduct an audit of existing disability initiatives: Where are you? Where should you be?

4. Identify opportunities to bring candidates with disabilities into your workforce (e.g. peak, off peak, internships, part time, utility or casual employees)

5. Identify local partners who will help supply talent with disabilities

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NOD’s top 10 list will provide companies with steps to create or evolve their programs..cont.

6. Set Goals –hire people with disabilities along with all other sources of talent (when will you have your first new hire class?)

7. Train your staff – define the program, expanding diversity, better community partners – and help them see that people with disabilities can and will contribute

8. Establish Internal Champions/Stakeholders – on the ground supporters who will help answer questions and bring information to leaders about resistance

9. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – get feedback, don’t be afraid to try new things

10. Track, Measure & Share Progress – document the successes, and what didn’t work so well. Keep trying. And share your results with others

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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 Disabilities http://

nod.org/assets/downloads/01-2011_Exec_Summary.pdf• Employment Resources: http://nod.org/disability_resources/employment_resources/

For more information on the Disability Employment Tracker, visit www.nod.org/trackerTo register to take the Disability Employment Tracker, email tracker@nod.org