Successful Strategies for Retail Sector Initiatives

Transcription

1 Successful Strategies for Retail Sector Initiatives NNSP Conference, November 2007

2 PRESENTERS John Halpin, Deputy Director JVS Patrick Mitchell, Program Manager Mission Hiring Hall Kim McKeon, Director, HR Divisional Support, Macy s West

3 WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES Outline key components and challenges of a collaborative retail workforce development system Provide research and best practices for career advancement Identify strategies for engaging employers and other stakeholders

4 VISION To establish a system for residents in San Francisco with barriers to employment to fill the majority of new jobs in the retail sector, and to provide them the skills and support to retain and advance in their jobs and achieve self-sufficiency

5 CONTEXT Alignment with San Francisco s economic strategy Retail is projected to be the fastest growing industry in San Francisco Adding 7,800 jobs from Within the retail sector, wages increase along with skills and education, and differentiate between big box and high end stores/product lines

6 Stakeholders Employers, Job Seekers and Intermediaries

7 Employer Challenges and Best Practices Recruitment Retention/turnover Quality of workforce Training standards Uncertain hiring needs (e.g., holiday jobs) Promoting Career Ladders Engaging community resources

8 Employee/Job Seeker Challenges Living wages Benefits Consistent hours Pathways to self-sufficiency Opportunities for training, overcoming barriers

9 Current Retail Training Landscape in SF Mission Hiring Hall/SOMEC JVS Goodwill City College Other CBO s Organized Labor

10 Challenges in the Current Workforce Development System Lack of a comprehensive, coordinated system to respond to employer and workforce challenges Fragmented employer engagement Duplicate client outreach and services Limited assessment and training standards Limited effort on career advancement Limited collaboration Limited funding Shifts in labor market

11 Other Training Models/Best Practices JEVS Retail Skills Center King of Prussia, PA Providence Skills Center Providence, RI Priority Retail Resource Center San Marcos, TX Institute for Sales and Service Excellence Palm Desert, CA Customer Service Learning Center Culver City, CA

12 Creating a Retail Training System Goals and Key Components

13 GOALS FOR A RETAIL TRAINING SYSTEM Place 500 people (with barriers to employment) in new retail jobs per year Help 100 low-wage incumbent workers per year advance in retail or across sectors

14 Retail Sector System Model Embrace City s economic strategy Coordinate and steer public/private workforce services Employer-based and streamlined system Address skills gap and workforce quality Improve career advancement and sector jobs

15 Key Components Outreach to job seekers, CBOs and collaborative partners Coordinated employer engagement Marketing Contact management Commitments to the system (e.g., on-the-job training, stable work schedules) System of coordinated referrals

16 Key Components (cont.) Standardized assessment tools addressing employment barriers Basic skills Job readiness skills Soft skills Vocational skills Coordinated tracking and case management of participants within and outside of the system

17 Key Components (cont.) Skills Training: Classroom and Experience Based Customer Service Retail Sales Retail Management Logistics Custodial Clerical Security

18 Key Components (cont.) Career Advancement Career ladder research (within & across sectors) Career advising Skills training

19 Retail Sales Career Ladder Level 3 - Management Training and/or 4-year degree Store Manager Assistant Manager Department Manager Level 2 Short- to moderateterm On-the-Job Training Retail Sales Product Specific Sales Commissioned Sales Team Leader Level 1 - Customer Service Skills and/or High School Diploma Cashier Counter and Rental Clerk Retail Sales Associate Team Member Seasonal San Francisco County - Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc. - 8/07 San Francisco County Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc. - 8/07

20 Inter Sector Career Ladder Zone 3 Bookkeeping & Accounting Clerks Administrative Assistants Medical Assistants Retail Managers Hotel Manager Social/Human Services Assistants Moderate OJT Work experience Moderate OJT Moderate OJT Medical Transcriptionists Retail Buyers Zone 2 Post-secondary vocational Work experience Office Clerks Reception & Info Clerks Home Health Aides Retail Sales 2 Desk Clerks Short-term OJT Short-term OJT Short-term OJT Short-term OJT Short-term OJT CS Reps Tellers Nurse Aides Moderate OJT Short-term OJT Post-secondary vocational Zone 1 Mail Clerks Stock Clerks Janitors Cashiers Retail Sales 1 Food Concession & Coffee Shop Short-term OJT Short-term OJT Short-term OJT Food Preparation Baggage & Valet San Francisco County Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc. - 8/07 Short-term OJT

21 Key Components - Employer Engagement Focus Groups Curriculum Development Advisory Boards Employer Participation in Program Guest Speakers/Panels Field Trips Hiring Events

22 Tools for Employer Relationship Management CRM Database How To Guides, Scripts and FAQ s Employer Engagement Model and Workplan

23 JVS EMPLOYER PARTNERSHIP MODEL Objective: To Improve the Caliber of Job Applicants, Increase Employee Skills and Raise Retention through Partnerships with JVS Resulting in Increased Financial Self-Sufficiency for JVS clients Level I Level II Level III Level IV Level V Employer Examples Hyatt Regency Mills Peninsula Borders Chinese Hospital Microsoft On Lok Senior Svcs Safeway Laguna Honda Wells Fargo Macy s Description of Program Engagement Early stage of relationship. Just establishing a knowledge of JVS programs and services and defining relevance to employer needs. Some relationship is established. Employer may have participated in one or two events, come for a tour, hired once, etc. Greater and more regular involvement in JVS programs, collaboration in new program development; JVS is becoming a resource in hiring and training Strong relationship with JVS; reliance on JVS for training and recruitment; collaboration in program development; JVS incorporates employer feedback re: recruitment practices, etc. Long-standing relationship with JVS, supporter of JVS clients and programs. Established hiring relationship, consistent input in program design, some financial support. Examples of Activities Jobs online Hiring JVS candidates Preceding activities, & Refer employees/job seekers to JVS services Participate in JVS job fairs Nominate JVS hires for Strictly Business Employee of the Year Award Preceding activities, & Speakers/presentations at JVS events Internships or job shadowing Informational & mock Interviews Focus groups Advisory Board Preceding activities, & Refer instructors to JVS programs Recruiter presentations to JVS staff Letters of support for grant proposals Clinical rotations Preceding activities, & Customized training for specific hard-to-fill positions Retention services and career coaching for new hires and your employees Onsite training for your employees Benefit to Employer Increase quality and pipeline of job candidates Increase community visibility of your organization Refer employees to JVS training programs Strengthen career advancement opportunities Opportunity to prescreen job candidates Input into new training programs Increased awareness of successful workforce models through Adv. Bd and focus groups Candidates trained to your specifications Increased JVS responsiveness to recruiter needs More opportunities to observe potential candidates Access to leveraged funding for training Reduced in-house training cost Improved retention in your facility Ability to provide staff onsite training in needed skills Common Benefits Increase quality and pipeline of job candidates Increase visibility of your organization in the community

24 Financing Models Community Development Tax Increment Financing Advocacy for Sector-Based Funding Employer Support Other

25 Conclusions and Recommendations Conduct additional research around customer service skills innate or trainable? Develop curriculum for career ladder progression with industry organizations Advocacy for changes in employment structure and hiring Market retail as a career track job Outreach to retail unions to develop relationships around shared goals

26 Questions?

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