Category:  #4, One Stop Design and Management

Application Contact:  Ms. Connie Sowards

Title:  One-Stop Operator/Center Manager

Organization/Address:
Tompkins Workforce New York
Center Ithaca, 171 E. State Street, PMB 154
Ithaca, NY 14850

E-Mail Address: csowards@tompkins-co.org

Phone: (607) 272-7570 X141

The Resource Sharing Agreement was developed by the Partners’ Table of Tompkins Workforce New York. The concept evolved initially during Memorandum of Understanding and Cost Allocation Plan discussions at Partner meetings. All partners were experiencing funding challenges and were interested in pursuing alternative methods for meeting their MOU obligations. Furthermore, partners acknowledged that there needed to be more direct involvement in service delivery at the one-stop in order to improve integration, increase referrals, and increase staff knowledge of one-stop services.

The Resource Sharing Agreement initiative required the development of a Resource Sharing Agreement and procedures for implementation in the Tompkins Workforce New York One Stop Career Center Resource Room. The key steps included:

1. Development
   
   1. Established a sub-committee to create the plan
      
      1. Researched best practices
      2. Drafted plan components
   2. Partners’ Table approval of Resource Agreement

2. Implementation
   
   1. Solicitation of partner staff for resource room support
   2. Establishment of schedules, evaluation tool, and rotation process
   3. Orientation of new staff
   4. Training of new staff
   5. Establishment of resource room staff meetings

The outcomes achieved to-date are numerous and additional benefits are surfacing continuously as the process matures. The early indicators of success are: an increased sense of ownership; increased and more equitable partner participation in one-stop service delivery; improved partner usage of AOSOS; and improved staff knowledge across partner programs.

All partners were deeply involved in the process resulting in greater partner buy-in and an increased sense of ownership. After many lengthy, somewhat ugly, MOU and cost allocation plan discussions, this process resulted in a renewed commitment by all partners to the one-stop service delivery concept.

The development and implementation of the Resource Sharing Agreement have resulted in greater participation and increased equity among partners in one-stop operations and the resource room in particular. Prior to implementation, only four partners participated in providing resource room support. Today, seven partners have staff participating in shared services, with the remainder of the partners still in negotiations working out the final details regarding their contributions. It is anticipated that all of the partners will be participating in the resource room resource sharing by July 1, 2003.

Tompkins County has been a leader in the state in requiring and providing partner access to AOSOS. However, partner AOSOS usage has been inconsistent at best. Since the Resource Sharing Agreement was implemented, there have been significant improvements in AOSOS usage by partner staff out-stationed at the Center and according to recent AOSOS reports, 20% of job referrals and 22% of customer registrations are created by partner staff (non-DOL). Furthermore, we are beginning to see this migrate to the offsite partner locations as their staffs that serve in the resource room rotation go back and serve their customers in the partner agencies with this new knowledge and encourage their co-workers to do the same.

This process has resulted in improved service integration and cross training of staff. System staffs now more clearly see the benefits of service integration and acknowledge that duplication of services exists. They have become more engaged in exchanging program knowledge. Since the implementation of the resource sharing agreement, an additional three partners and several community agencies have requested an opportunity to present an informational training to the All Center staff group. These include: Office for the Aging; Challenge Industries (Social Security benefits portion); Catholic Charities; Small Business Development Center; Small Business Administration; and Consumer Credit Counseling.

The Tompkins County Workforce Development Board and Partners’ Table are very proud of our commitment to continuous improvement and high quality workforce services. This project was driven by that commitment and will continue to evolve as new challenges are encountered and lessons are learned.

Tompkins County is committed to sharing best practices and has already shared much of this initiative through the One-Stop Operator Community of Practice. The Board and Partners’ Table remain willing to offer assistance to other Workforce Investment Areas struggling with similar issues.

The following steps were taken by Tompkins Workforce New York from inception of the Resource Sharing agreement through implementation and evaluation. The process is continuously improving as it matures.

STEP I: Identifying and Analyzing the Issue/Problem

A number of issues had surfaced over time that caused misunderstanding and dissatisfaction among partners and system staff. This process brought these issues to the surface and proposed solutions.

Insufficient Opportunities for MOU Obligation Offset
This project was initiated because partners were concerned about meeting their MOU obligations, with a few stating there was a possibility they may be unable to pay their MOU bill at the end of the fiscal year. During MOU3 discussions, Partners identified areas where they felt partner staff could contribute to one-stop operations, thereby offsetting cash contributions with resource sharing. Furthermore, there was not a clear-cut process for determining which staff from what partners should be provided an opportunity to contribute to resource sharing in the resource room.

Non-existent or Inadequate Methods to Encourage and Assure Quality Staff Performance
Partners already participating in shared services in the resource room indicated that they needed more feedback regarding staff performance and those partners who were not participating felt that they did not have any way to determine the effectiveness of the currently participating staff.

No process existed for current staff to know specifically what was expected of them or the chain of command. In addition, staff received conflicting instructions from the Center Manager and their program manager creating confusion and uncertainty.

Non-Compliance with AOSOS Participation Requirement
Only the two previous principal players in the resource room, Department of Labor and E&T, were consistently:

• Referring customers to job orders through the Match and Refer process of the AOSOS system
• Inputting new business contacts, visits to businesses and services rendered to these businesses into the America’s One-Stop Operating system (AOSOS)
• Registering customers into the AOSOS system
• Referring customers to appropriate partners for additional resources and services.

Staff Buy-In
Tompkins Workforce New York system staff, which consist of partner staff involved with providing workforce related services, did not all fully understand the services available at the One-Stop Career Center or the overall system. This was apparent by the limited partner presence in the one-stop center resource room, limited referrals to the center, and limited AOSOS activity by off-site partners. To make matters worse, there was virtually no established communication system in place, other than relying on the Partner Table representative to pass information along. And this process was clearly not working. This fact was further substantiated when partner staffs were invited to the First Anniversary Celebration of Tompkins Workforce New York in May of 2002. The response was extremely light. Partner staff either didn’t respond or exhibited minimal or no understanding of the system and their role in it.

STEP II: Project Goals and Desired Outcomes

GOALS
The following goals were established:

1. To Provide Tompkins Workforce New York partners with a better opportunity to participate in the One Stop system resource sharing, thereby reducing the strain on the partners’ cash resources.

2. To foster a stronger sense of ownership among the partners and to lessen tensions created by paying for a system that was not understood, and whose benefits were unclear.

3. To increase system integration by involving partner staff from a greater number of partner organizations. Clearly, those staffs with closer ties to the one-stop center and system were better able to articulate the resources available and their value to the system than those who were not directly involved.

4. To Increase partner staff AOSOS usage including: registrations; job referrals; business services activities; and partner referrals.

5. To improve the quality of resource room staffing by clarifying the mission of the system and center, the tasks involved, the expectations of management, and the process for evaluation.

6. To establish a more consistent and timely communication system within the Workforce New York System, from management to line staff level, to create a stronger sense of belonging, improve staff knowledge, and reduce inconsistencies and misunderstandings.

MEASURES
The following measures were necessary for determining whether the project was successful:

Existing Measures

1. A number of reports were already in place but needed to be refined to specifically measure:
   1. Number of job referrals by partner
   2. Number of AOSOS registrations by partner
   3. Number of business visits and services by individual Business Solutions Team members
   4. Number and quality of partner referrals

2. Customer Satisfaction surveys were being used regularly to gauge customer service and would be a valuable tool to quantify the improvement or degradation of services

3. All Center staff meetings used for seeking staff feedback, discussing shared concerns, and seeking new ideas

New Measures:

1. A formal evaluation tool for resource room staff performance

2. An exit interview document for Center management to solicit legitimate feedback on resource room procedures

3. A method of tracking partner referrals: A paper tool was in development by a front-line work team, however, the impending swipe card system recently procured for each Center will be used instead for this tracking along with the AOSOS upgrade that now allows for partner referral tracking

4. Creation of an all-system email distribution list to regularly communicate with all system staff

5. In addition to All Center staff meetings, recurring resource room staff meetings to include all current partner staff involved

STEP III: Resources Needed and Critical Partners

RESOURCES
The following resources were required for the development and implementation of the Resource Sharing Agreement:

1. Partner sub-committee to develop the Resource Sharing Agreement for approval

2. Greater time commitment of One Stop Center Management to oversee the operation, develop the process, and evaluate the procedures and staff and report back to the partnership

3. Partner expertise to provide cross- informational training on their individual agencies to resource room staff and Business Solutions Team members

4. Commitment of Partner staff to work in the resource room and on the Business Solutions Team

5. Marketing materials for both the resource room and the Business Solution Team that support the one-stop concept

CRITICAL PARTNERS
The critical partners in developing and implementing this agreement were:

1. Tompkins Workforce New York partnership was the most critical element in the success of the new practice. All of the partners approved the concept, reviewed the agreement for changes, committed to the process, and gave the One-Stop Management the authority and responsibility to carry out the process

2. Tompkins County Workforce Development Board to support and endorse the concept

3. One Stop Management Team to carry out the procedures agreed upon in this practice

STEP IV: Action Plan

DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION
The development and implementation of the Resource Sharing Agreement began in October 2002 and is a continuous process:

October 1, 2002 – A Partner Table sub-committee was established to develop a resource sharing agreement that addressed the concerns and goals of the partnership. The subcommittee was charged with drafting the document and an implementation plan for partner approval

December 1, 2002 – Resource Sharing Agreement and implementation plan was developed and brought before the Partners’ Table for approval. The Resource Sharing Agreement was approved by partners. (Enclosed)

Sections include:

• Job Descriptions
  • Center Manager
  • Workforce Development Specialist
  • One-Stop Technician
  • Business Solution Team Member
  • Employee Information Specialist (Greeter)
• Expectations
• Selection Process
• Reconciliation of actual cost data
• Training Outline
• Performance Oversight

January 1, 2003 – Partners were solicited for interest in having staff support the resource room. Negotiations ensued and agreement was reached by the applicable partners to assure:

• Equitable distribution between all involved partners
• Capacity to support the hours agreed upon
• The schedule was appropriate for the staff involved

January 24, 2003 – The first informational meeting was held for current and new resource room staff to:

• Distribute job descriptions
• Discuss expectations
• Establish chain of command
• Describe the evaluation process, schedules and procedures

January 27-31, 2003 –Training week was held for all new staff:

• Orientation - Overview of all resource room resources, computer setups, procedures for answering phones etc., fax, copier, phone usage instructions, policies of resource room coverage, safety practices and procedures; proper documentation was completed for OSOS passwords and security levels
• One-on-one training - Conducted by Specialist covering One Stop Operating System (OSOS), customer service, websites, general procedures and question & answer time.

February 3, 2003 - New rotation of resource room staff began. Communication procedures were established:

• Resource room meetings schedule was created and distributed
• Resource room email distribution list was created and appropriate information was disseminated.
• All partner system email distribution list established and utilized
• Employee survey created by One Stop Operator Consortium
• Exit interview procedure was completed for all exiting staff.
• Customer satisfaction survey results procedure was established

May 2003 – the Business Solutions Team (BST) procedures of the Resource Sharing Agreement were handled separately since the team members are not all physically located at the Center. The team had been established earlier but faced the same challenges as the resource room staff.

The One Stop Management Team met with the BST to review the agreement, distribute job descriptions, discuss expectations, describe the evaluation process, and communication procedures. They had previously received their partner information and One Stop Operating System training.

June 30, 2003 –This is the end of the first cycle:

• First rotation of the new partner staff is completed
• Evaluation period ends for this staff
• Exit interviews, where applicable, are to be completed
• Partners will be solicited for interest in support for next six months

July 1, 2003 – New rotation begins for another six months.

July 31, 2003 – All evaluations for staff through June 30, 2003, are to be completed. In addition, employee surveys will be distributed and results communicated to staff through email distribution system.

CUSTOMER INPUT AND FEEDBACK
Although this process is staff intensive, customer input and feedback were used throughout the process. Customer feedback is gathered and used in various capacities. Both surveys and individual interviews provide valuable information. This information is used to:

• Revisit and refine processes that may need adjustment based on customer flow or new economic conditions
• Address staff issues that indicate additional training requirements may be needed, expectations were not communicated clearly, or staff assignments are not adequate for traffic flow trends
• To credit staff for a job well done

STEP V: Carrying Out The Initiative

START UP
No additional cash outlay was required to implement this practice, however, commitment of new partner staff was required to cover rotation hours. In addition, current staff time was committed to train and build relationships with new staff. This was vital for a smooth transition.

OPERATING COSTS
No additional operating costs were required

IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE

• Three Months - Development of Resource Sharing Agreement –
  The sub-committee worked on the development of the agreement approximately three months, including partner approval time
• Three Weeks - Window of Opportunity for Participation
  The partners had three weeks to commit to providing the support staff, give names and agree upon the schedule, including the frequency and number of hours
• Four Weeks – Initial Implementation-
  The implementation process is ongoing, but initial implementation which included orientation, overview training, intensive one-on-one training, and mentoring. Training is an on-going process as procedures are refined, feedback is received, and new systems are developed. An example of this will be the training involved when we receive our new swipe card system and the results of our Secret Shopper visits.

PITFALLS

• Customer satisfaction survey results dropped during the first month of implementation (new staff still in training) from 9.33 to 8.63. (A sample is enclosed).
• It was apparent that partner staff felt different levels of commitment to notifying resource room supervisor that they couldn’t make it and making an effort to swap coverage times.
• Staff had some personality conflicts during initial implementation.
• Some of the returning customers would wait for staff they were familiar with rather than having new staff assist them. Credibility was soon established and this became a non-issue.

LESSONS LEARNED

• Make no assumptions that partner staff understand the Workforce Development System. Assume they are all at the basic entry level. It was quickly apparent that more extensive training was needed.
• There needed to be a more thorough explanation to both partners and front line staff of commitment and responsibility involved with the Resource Room and Business Solution Team involvement. Commitment of first line supervision of the partner staff was the key to the attitude of their staff.
• Acceptable customer service has different meanings for some staff based on the target audience they serve and guidance given by their individual agencies. This requires ongoing observance and intervention by Center Management.
• Overseeing the operation was and is more time consuming than first thought, in order to accomplish the goals and strategy agreed upon.

Step VI: Measuring And Sustaining Success

OUTCOMES

1. Partners are participating more in generating AOSOS job referrals (Match and Refer process):

   Partner staff, rather than Department of Labor staff, made 20% of all job referrals on the OSOS system

2. Partners are participating more in completing AOSOS registrations:

   Partner staff completed 22% of all customer AOSOS registrations. Historically, DOL staff had this role almost exclusively.

3. Workshops at the Center:

   Prior to the agreement, there was one workshop monthly being offered at the Center. Since the implementation of the agreement, there are at least one to two weekly, and negotiations are being conducted to offer more on a weekly basis.

4. Business Activities:

   Prior to the Resource Sharing agreement, DOL staff primarily made and recorded the business visits. Since the job descriptions and renewed expectations have been delivered through the agreement, BST staff are having access to the business activity screens and are communicating and coordinating their visits more effectively. In April of 2003, business contacts and job orders entered did not change from previous months. The significance of this is that the full-time Business Service Representative from DOL retired in March.

5. Resource Room Partner Referrals:

   This is not being tracked manually at this time, but from interviews conducted with the resource room staff, it is felt that the additional training and visibility in the resource room has greatly enhanced the appropriate partner referrals. This fact is extremely important because it enhances the perception of the benefits derived by belonging to the system. This has been an on-going issue with the Memorandum of Understanding and developing a methodology for cost sharing.

6. More equitable distribution of resource sharing in the Cost Allocation portion of the Memorandum of Understanding:

   The MOU3 plan is ready to be signed and the cost allocation piece has primarily been agreed upon. Because of timing, the agreement did not impact MOU3 significantly. However, MOU4 will be significantly impacted by the resource sharing agreement.

7. Higher visibility of the Tompkins Workforce New York One Stop Center throughout the partnership and community:

   Only One community agency had presented to our staff prior to the enhanced partner involvement via the resource sharing agreement. Since then, three partners have presented to the Center staff as well as several community agencies soliciting time at the meetings to present to the resource room and Center staff or have requested center staff to present at their sites.

8. The All-system email distribution list is established and being used. Center management keeps the partner staff abreast of information regarding the Center. An example was a contest run for all staff to solicit ideas for a new focus statement for the system. There were 10 responses from different partners.

9. Survey results are back to higher levels since the training has been completed: 8.63 to 9.17 in March 2003

COMMUNICATION
The communication to the front line staff has been and will continue to be a crucial element to the success of this process. We have utilized several different avenues of communication:

• Partners have been informed at the partners’ table and through email distribution system
• Feedback has been given to staff at agency staff meetings, resource room staff meetings, all center staff meetings, resource room staff email list and the all system staff email process.
• Communication has been on-going with the board since the partners are on many Workforce Development Board committees

SUSTAINABILITY
The Resource Sharing Agreement has become part of the Memorandum of Understanding and approved by the partners. The agreement is reviewed annually or more often as needed. We anticipate that the agreement will remain intact with minor changes and improvements as lessons are learned and the process becomes more sophisticated. Partners believe that the development and implementation of this agreement is the foundation of a lasting partnership committed to continuous quality improvement

In addition, many pieces of the Resource Sharing Agreement have been sent to other areas for replication. As this concept becomes institutionalized, it will further improve the sustainability and continuous improvement of the process.

Attachment: Resource Sharing Agreement