New York State Department of Labor
Profiles of Promising Practices
GLOW BUSINESS MARKETING TEAM
Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, Wyoming (GLOW) Workforce Investment Board
March 2001 - Present

Purpose

• To coordinate business outreach activities with economic development strategies for better services to GLOW area businesses.

How It Works

• The GLOW Workforce Investment Board (WIB) initiated a “Business Marketing Team,” which consisted of Industrial Development Agencies (IDA), Employment and Training, NYS DOL, a Community College, the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), and WIB staff.
• The business team set a goal of visiting 25% of the employers in the region and developed a form to use on the visits in order to ensure consistent feedback.
• These contacts helped to formulate a picture of employers’ hiring and training practices to guide the WIB in the development of employer services.
• The WIB uses the feedback from employers to ensure that all of their workforce needs are met in a coordinated approach.
• A database is in place to track site visits and results.

Results

• The initiative has produced a method to assist businesses in a proactive and coordinated way.
• The Business Marketing Team made 325 business visits in seven months and 649 employees have upgraded their skills through training as a result of this effort.
• The Adult and Dislocated Worker credential standard was exceeded by more than 15%.
• Partners have had more job seeker and employer customers.
• Better customer service is being provided to both businesses and job seekers.
• Results are reported every month at the WIB meeting.

How They Did It

• The GLOW WIB’s Economic Development Committee made a recommendation to the full WIB to have a coordinated approach to serving businesses.
• The GLOW WIB gave input leading to the formation of the Business Marketing Team.
• The GLOW WIB Training Coordinator was designated as the contact through which the activities of the team flow

Start-Up Costs

• All partners contributed to the initiative and a variety of funding streams were used to meet businesses’ training needs.

Operating Costs

• Three staff members spend 15% of their time on the initiative.

Funding

• Costs associated with sustaining the Business Marketing Team are a system cost for all partners to share.
• Staff at the WIB are supported through WIA Title 1 funding.

Lessons Learned

• Set up a master database (at the onset of the initiative) to track activities and results.