Post by Lauren Benatti on Apr 14, 2016 14:33:10 GMT
1. Review posts from your colleagues for the Innovative Challenge in Lesson #1. Answer the following:
- Which ideas did you like and why?
I really liked Kelly's ideas regarding engagement and orientation. Kelly stated that "this is an area where we should explore how all programs do this and look at engagement rates in different program. Engagement rates tell a big story. High engagement rates mean individuals are sold on the program." I assume that most, if not all, of Fedcap's direct service programs have some sort of orientation, but Kelly's post made me realize that I do not know how those programs approach this work. Back 2 Work, WeCare, Employment Works, Youth and Young Adult, and many other programs all have to orientate clients to their program and services, and may take different approaches. We have so much expertise in house, we should be sharing best practices throughout the agency so that we can learn from each other. Through reporting such as Metrics that Matter, we are able to see some outcomes and statistics from other programs, but seeing how they got to these outcomes would also be very beneficial. I like the idea of exploring HOW other programs deliver their services, which can be done individually between program staff, and/or on a more macro level such as agency wide remote or in person management meetings/brainstorming, using the intranet, etc.
- Are there any ideas you could build on to help you stay ahead of the curve in your practice area?
Again, I believe that utilizing the expertise that we have in house (as well as outside of Fedcap) and sharing best practices will only help us stay ahead of the curve.
2. Thinking about innovation more broadly at Fedcap, post a response to one of the two following questions:
- How can Fedcap leverage its business relationships in more effective ways? (I chose this question)
I think that we can do more to engage our business relationships and employers in more aspects of our work. Of course we spend a lot of time and energy using our business relationships to develop jobs and internships, but I think we could also use these relationships to inform and shape other aspects of client engagement, such as orientations, trainings, and education. For example, how much more engaged would a client, especially a mandated client, be if an employer visited an orientation session to talk about how they love hiring from Fedcap? We could also use business relationships to inform our vocational training curriculum, tailoring the training, or some aspects of the training, directly to employer needs on a larger level, and creating stronger pipelines for students graduating training and going into employment.
- Which ideas did you like and why?
I really liked Kelly's ideas regarding engagement and orientation. Kelly stated that "this is an area where we should explore how all programs do this and look at engagement rates in different program. Engagement rates tell a big story. High engagement rates mean individuals are sold on the program." I assume that most, if not all, of Fedcap's direct service programs have some sort of orientation, but Kelly's post made me realize that I do not know how those programs approach this work. Back 2 Work, WeCare, Employment Works, Youth and Young Adult, and many other programs all have to orientate clients to their program and services, and may take different approaches. We have so much expertise in house, we should be sharing best practices throughout the agency so that we can learn from each other. Through reporting such as Metrics that Matter, we are able to see some outcomes and statistics from other programs, but seeing how they got to these outcomes would also be very beneficial. I like the idea of exploring HOW other programs deliver their services, which can be done individually between program staff, and/or on a more macro level such as agency wide remote or in person management meetings/brainstorming, using the intranet, etc.
- Are there any ideas you could build on to help you stay ahead of the curve in your practice area?
Again, I believe that utilizing the expertise that we have in house (as well as outside of Fedcap) and sharing best practices will only help us stay ahead of the curve.
2. Thinking about innovation more broadly at Fedcap, post a response to one of the two following questions:
- How can Fedcap leverage its business relationships in more effective ways? (I chose this question)
I think that we can do more to engage our business relationships and employers in more aspects of our work. Of course we spend a lot of time and energy using our business relationships to develop jobs and internships, but I think we could also use these relationships to inform and shape other aspects of client engagement, such as orientations, trainings, and education. For example, how much more engaged would a client, especially a mandated client, be if an employer visited an orientation session to talk about how they love hiring from Fedcap? We could also use business relationships to inform our vocational training curriculum, tailoring the training, or some aspects of the training, directly to employer needs on a larger level, and creating stronger pipelines for students graduating training and going into employment.
