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Answer |
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Getting
a job is only the first step toward sustained employment.
About a quarter of welfare recipients who go to work stop
working within three months, and at least half are no
longer work-ing within a year.[1]
Faced with this reality, many welfare-to-work programs
have begun offering postemployment services, most commonly,
follow-up case management. Unfortunately, this is a relatively
new and untested area. The most rigorous evaluation to
date — the Post-Employment Services Demonstration
(PESD), a study of postemployment case management in four
sites — found that the services had little if any
effect on how long people kept jobs.[2]
The results underscore the difficulty of providing job
retention services. However, the lessons from PESD and
experience from other programs offer some clues for best
practices in this area.
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Begin
before the first job. Preemployment services are as
important to job retention as postemployment services.
High-quality welfare-to-work services promote job readiness
and build rela-tionships that facilitate follow-up.[3] |
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Help
people get the best job they can. The quality of a
job is a key factor in retaining it. Job search and job
development should therefore focus on matching job-seekers
with the best possible job, in terms of hours, wages,
and benefits.[4] |
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Build
on existing relationships. Maintaining contact with
new workers is easier if staff already have a relationship
with them. Have preemployment case managers continue working
with people after they go to work, or structure the transition
so that postemployment staff begin working with people
before they enter jobs. |
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Make
retention a priority. Postemployment services require
close monitoring and are labor intensive. Staff must be
given adequate time for follow-up, which must be made
a program priority.
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Establish
early and frequent contact. Contact new workers every
day the first week of the job, and then every week for
the first month. Start with the congratulatory phone call,
and establish a schedule for regular check-ins. After
that, tailor the frequency of follow-up to the individual's
situation. |
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Ask
specific questions. General questions like "How
is it going?" may elicit only general responses and
may not disclose problems. (See the box "Sample Questions
for New Employees.") |
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Use
your relationships with employers. When appropriate
(for example, when you have a preexisting relationship
with the employer or when both the employee and the employer
agree), get feedback from supervisors regarding job performance,
and encourage employers to contact staff immediately if
a worker does not show up or if other problems develop.
(See the box "Sample Questions for Employers/Supervisors.")
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Find
creative ways to stay in touch. For example, Labor
Connection, a job placement program in Los Angeles, has
weekly dinner and group meetings. The meetings act as
a support network and also provide a chance for staff
to connect with new workers. Staff need to follow up only
with those who do not attend. |
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Be
prepared to address a variety of issues. Many factors
can jeopardize new employment, including financial difficulties;
lack of job-related and "soft" skills, such
as being on time and following instructions; breakdowns
in support services; personal and family problems; and
problems with supervisors and coworkers. Be prepared to
assist new employees in all these areas, either directly
or through partnerships with other service providers.
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Make
sure that new workers are getting transitional benefits
and other kinds of support. Individuals who move from
welfare to work are generally eligible for a variety of
supports that can promote job retention, including transitional
child care and Medicaid, Food Stamps, and federal and
state Earned Income Credits. Many families, however, do
not receive these supports, either because they do not
know about them or because of complicated application
procedures.
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Provide
services in ways and at times convenient for working people.
Make sure that services are accessible to workers by offering
evening and weekend hours, providing services at multiple
times, meeting employees outside your office, and providing
child care during meetings and activities.[5]
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Aggressively
market the services you provide. Make sure that new
workers know about the program's services by actively
marketing them both before and after people get jobs.
Employers and community agencies can also provide information
about your services to workers. |
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Build
in reemployment assistance. No matter what you do,
a certain amount of job loss will occur and is part of
the process of achieving steady work. Use the channels
of communication that you have developed to find out when
someone loses a job, and help the person get another job
quickly. Identify the specific issue that contributed
most to loss of the job, and take steps to address that
issue.
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Sample Questions for New Employees
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What
time did you get to work today? How did you get there?
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Is
it hard to get out of the house on time? If so, why? What
can you do about that? |
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What
kinds of tasks do you do at work? Do you have too little,
too much, or enough time to finish your work? |
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Whom
do you ask if you have a question about the work? Are
you comfortable asking? If not, why? |
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What
is your supervisor like? Does your supervisor clearly
explain what is expected of you? |
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Has
your supervisor corrected anything that you have done?
How did that go? |
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What
do you do at lunchtime? What do others do? |
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What
time do you leave work? When do others leave? |
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Do
you get along with your coworkers? What kinds of things
do you talk about with them? |
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Have
you had any conflicts or uncomfortable situations with
your supervisor, coworkers, or customers? If so, what
can you do about that? |
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Are
you satisfied with the child care you have? Have you had
any problems with it? |
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Does
your family support your employment? How do you know that? |
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Do
your children act differently now that you are working?
In what ways? |
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Have
you changed your routines at home in any way? How is that
working out? |
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As
much as possible, tailor questions to the person's job,
and follow up on any problem that was mentioned in a previous
contact.
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Sample
Questions for Employers/Supervisors |
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In contrast to your in-depth questions for new employees,
try not to burden employers or supervisors with a lengthy
interview. Instead, ask them how the employee is generally
doing in these areas:
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Attendance
and punctuality |
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Ability
to follow directions |
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Quality
and quantity of work |
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Cooperation
with supervisors and coworkers
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More
information on this topic |
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Notes |
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1. |
Hershey
and Pavetti, 1997; Rangarajan, Schochet, and Chu, 1998. |
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2. |
Rangarajan,
1998; Rangarajan and Novak, 1999.
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3. |
For
best practices on preemployment services, see Brown, 1997. |
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4. |
In
the NEWWS Evaluation, the program most effective at helping
people stay employed (Portland, Oregon's Steps to Success)
was structured to help people get the best job they could.
See Scrivener et al., 1998. |
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5. |
One
program that has adjusted services to meet the needs of
working people is Portland, Oregon's Steps to Success.
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QFF#1
Answer 
