“Ensuring Employment Sector Service Excellence Across Communities” Carol Stewart Employment Sector Council London-Middlesex (ESCLM) Kelly Culver The Culver Group Inc.

Presentation Outline Introduction to the ESCLM Building a unique Network Strengthening organizational capacity Service Delivery Standards OneClient Model for Employment Sector Excellence OneClient 2012: Transferability of the OneClient Model to other communities and networks How can we help? Your ideas and questions…..

Employment Sector Council London-Middlesex (ESCLM) 40+ members: comprising nonprofit and public employment service delivery, community and economic development, labour, education, training, and government organizations Vision Statement: “A dynamic service delivery system that provides opportunity for all people to meet the changing labour market needs in our community” The ESCLM agencies serve over 80,000 clients/year

ESCLM: 20 Years of Network Building Governance Structures Steering and Volunteer Committees Information-Sharing Agreements Principles for the Protection of Personal Information Shared technology platforms

ESCLM: 20 Years of Network Building Sector information Clearing-house Rapid Response Protocol (for layoffs) Professional Development and Networking Job Developers Network Valued Community and Economic Development Partner

ESCLM: Strengthening Organizational Capacity Common Assessment Process Principles for the Protection of Personal Information Professional Development Network And…. ESCLM Service Delivery Standards

Best Practices through Service Delivery Standards The work of the ESCLM is accomplished at a community level through communication, networking, training, and planning; through adherence by all members, at an organizational level, to the ESCLM Service Delivery Standards. For more than 10 years, ESCLM has taken a leadership role in recognizing the need to accurately measure the standards by which employment and training services are delivered in this community through its network of agencies.

Origins of the Standards Initial Standards (1999) were developed as a result of: Initial Standards (1999) were developed as a result of: Shared concern by funders from all levels, and ESCLM, that all employment and training service program participants receive quality service. Shared concern by funders from all levels, and ESCLM, that all employment and training service program participants receive quality service. Lack of clarity regarding service providers’ mandates, practices and quality of service due to the fact there was no commonly accepted language to describe, compare and assess services. Lack of clarity regarding service providers’ mandates, practices and quality of service due to the fact there was no commonly accepted language to describe, compare and assess services. Funder and community interest in having collaboratively developed service standards Funder and community interest in having collaboratively developed service standards Need to work respectfully and collaboratively with clients Need to work respectfully and collaboratively with clients

Components of the Standards A. Common Values and Practices B. Employment and Training Service Delivery Components 1.Information 2.Pre-Service 3.Employment Counselling 4.Assessment 5.Referral 6.Employment Plan Preparation 7.Employment Preparation 8.Skill Training 9.Work Experience 10.Supported Employment 11.Case Management 12.Participant Follow-up 13.Participant Feedback

Standards: Background The Service Delivery Standards represent a community-level commitment to improving management strength and organizational capacity through clear and objective definition and application of locally agreed upon standards. Hundreds of volunteer and consulting hours invested in developing, implementing, measuring and revising the Standards since inception in Agency evaluations have occurred in 2002, and from 2008 to 2012: keeping the Standards and agencies current

Benefits of the Standards For Clients: For Clients: For Career Development Practitioners and other employment workers For Career Development Practitioners and other employment workers For Agencies For Agencies For Funders For Funders For the Community For the Community

Introducing OneClient! OneClient is our new brand for our Regional Employment Sector Model for promoting, evaluating and ensuring the highest quality performance and operations of member agencies Copyrighted as the collective INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY of ESCLM Membership OneClient supports developing resources, tools, best practices and ways to effectively measure outcomes for Employment Service (in many cases government funded) program objectives of consistency and continuous improvement

We believe that OneClient represents a leading practice in the industry. And so….. ESCLM wants to share our 20 years of expertise, experience, and commitment with other Employment Service providers seeking a client-centred, integrated model for their own communities.

Why this is important The Ontario Government supports OneClient as a province-wide model for Service Delivery Standards evaluation and certification across Employment Service agencies. Rather than treat all clients similarly, the OneClient model respects the uniqueness of individuals, organizations, and communities. We may be starting small, but we have been given the opportunity to influence the creation of community- based client focused networks in Ontario and we believe that all clients, employers and stakeholders will benefit from this innovative approach. We’re Thinking BIG!

Transferability In 2011 ESCLM tested the applicability and transferability of both the OneClient Standards and the evaluation process to Employment Service providers in communities outside the London area. (Hamilton, Niagara, Brantford, Sarnia/Lambton) 9 organizations participated in this pilot project.

Transferability The service providers were a mix of organizations providing employment and training services (municipal, Aboriginal, Mental Health, Homeless, Persons with Disabilities, Youth and Immigrant/New Canadians) Findings: the 13 Standards are transferable to these organizations (both operational and service delivery) and there is the potential to design a province-wide (and nation-wide?!) model for transferability of both the Standards and Evaluation across Employment Service Agencies

Expanding the OneClient Model We also found that the agencies and communities that performed best in evaluations were those with greater organizational and sector maturity. So, we are now working with communities to help them focus on building and strengthening their own employment sector networks: providing guidance in governance, working together, meeting community needs We also provide training in org. capacity building, such as in our CAP model (over 900 individuals trained in the last 15 years)

The Business Community Understands Standard... OneClient Agencies are promoted to the key employers in their area. This marketing and promotion is done in collaboration with Economic Development Corporations and Local Workforce Planning and Development Boards. OneClient was recently the feature of an article in the Business London Magazine, and the London Economic Development Corp. uses OneClient to promote London to new employers.

City of London (Ontario Works) is a OneClient org…! “We want to ensure that our quality of service is reviewed and acknowledged. As a government partner who is both a funder and a deliverer of services, we need to adhere to the same standards that we expect of our partners”. “OneClient helps us meet our commitment to work with people and help them successfully gain reemployment no matter what their circumstances and by communicating clear accountability for our employment action plan”.

ATN Access Inc. is a OneClient org…! “We now have effective policies and organizational procedures in place that ensure we follow OneClient Common Values and Practices. These Common Values and Practices include the highest degree of respect for clients. All agency supports are aimed at fostering independence and participants are informed of relevant programs within the employment sector community. This helps with informed decision making concerning what is best for them”.

Questions? Tell us about your Community Employment Network! Ideas? Can we help?