By: Kayleigh P. Marques
September 10th, 2024
Summary of Part 1
In “Designing a Results-Based Workforce Development Partnership (Part 1 — Understanding the Complexity),” we explored the intricate and multifaceted nature of workforce development as a critical social issue. The blog emphasized the need for cross-sector collaboration, highlighting that no single organization can address the diverse challenges of workforce development alone.
We also discussed the main priority areas—such as skill development, education alignment, employer engagement, and equity—and the importance of engaging a wide range of partners, from educational institutions to government agencies and employers. Central to this approach is the concept of shared accountability, ensuring that all partners are aligned and contributing to the common goals.
Finally, we underscored the critical role of shared measurement systems in tracking progress, facilitating collaboration, and driving continuous improvement. These systems allow for the comprehensive tracking of individuals’ journeys from cradle to career, housing all relevant data in a centralized location that enhances the partnership’s overall impact.
Workforce development is an intricate and multifaceted social issue that requires cross-sector collaboration, shared accountability, and shared measurement systems.
Eight Core Strategies to Design Effective Workforce Development Partnerships
Building on the foundational concepts discussed in Part 1, Part 2 of this blog series delves into practical strategies for ensuring the success of workforce development partnerships. Drawing from Adam Luecking’s book, Social Sector Hero, this next installment outlines eight key strategies that can help partnerships achieve their goals effectively and efficiently. These strategies emphasize the importance of alignment, simplicity, equity, and transparency, providing a clear roadmap for organizations looking to create lasting, positive impact through their workforce development initiatives. By integrating these approaches, partnerships can strengthen their collaboration, enhance their data-driven decision-making, and ultimately deliver better outcomes for the communities they serve.
When you’re done reading this post, download Social Sector Hero for free here >>
1. Align with a Common Purpose (Establish Results and Indicators)
A foundational workforce development strategy is ensuring that all partners are aligned with a common purpose. This means agreeing on the specific results you want to achieve and the indicators that will measure progress toward these results. In a workforce development context, your collaborative’s purpose might be improving employment rates or increasing access to job training programs and agreeing on indicators that will track wellbeing in the community you serve.
Common Purpose = Result(s) and Indicator(s) that are shared among all partners and utilized to guide all strategies and activities.
Result = A statement that describes what conditions of well-being you’d like to achieve for the children, adults, families, and/or communities that you serve. E.g. “All adults in our community have jobs that pay living wages.”
Indicator = A metric that helps you understand if you’re achieving the Result. For example, “% of adults in our community who have jobs that pay living wages.”
Learn more about this concept >>
2. Ensure Alignment Throughout the Journey (Meet with Partners Regularly)
Maintaining alignment is not a one-time task but an ongoing process. Regular meetings with all partners are crucial to ensure that everyone remains on the same page. These meetings provide an opportunity to review data, discuss challenges, and make necessary adjustments to strategies or tactics. This consistent communication helps to keep all partners focused on the shared goals and fosters a collaborative environment where data is used to drive decisions.
One useful tool for creating more alignment is the “1,1,1,1,” or “1×4” meeting.
A 1×4 meeting is a meeting between a funder or backbone support organization and one grantee or partner that occurs once per year, for one hour maximum, to discuss progress on one performance metric. Following this method should help you focus your schedule and avoid wasting time.
There are many other ways to create more alignment in your workforce development partnership. Read about them here >>
3. Adopt a ‘Less is More’ Mindset (Report on No More Than Five Performance Measures
Performance Measure = Measures of how well public and private programs and agencies are working. The most important Performance Measures tell us whether the clients or customers of the program or service are better off. Measures that track the quality of the Program are also important here. Performance Measures can apply to entire agencies, service delivery systems, or individual programs. An example might include, “the percentage of job training recipients that increase their wage or got a new job.”
In the spirit of simplicity and effectiveness, Luecking advocates for a “less is more” approach. Rather than overwhelming partners with extensive data collection and reporting requirements, focus on no more than five key performance measures per partner or grantee. This approach ensures that the most critical data is tracked consistently across all partners, reducing the burden on organizations and increasing the likelihood of obtaining high-quality, actionable data.
The most important performance measures you and your partners should focus on answer one simple question: Is anyone better off as a result of your service? Other kinds of measures — like the number of clients a program serves or the number of program pamphlets handed out — are important, but they are NOT “better off” measures.
Learn more about this concept >>
4. Disaggregate Data to Advance Equity
Data Disaggregation = Taking a single measure — like “Number of interview skills training program participants” or “% of program participants who get and keep good jobs” — and splitting it into multiple measures that reflect outcomes for particular characteristics or subpopulations. Characteristics are things like race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, and income. Subpopulations are things like regions, counties, and neighborhoods.
Disaggregating data is essential for advancing equity within workforce development initiatives. By breaking down data by race, gender, age, income level, or other relevant factors, partnerships can identify disparities in community wellbeing or program outcomes and tailor interventions to address these gaps. This strategy ensures that workforce development efforts are inclusive and that all participants have an equal opportunity to benefit from the programs.
The eight core strategies for developing a results-based workforce development partnership include aligning with a common purpose, meeting regularly, practicing ‘less is more,’ disaggregating data, practicing consistency and flexibility, reporting data with stories, supporting effective dialogue, and reporting data publicly.
5. Practice Consistency and Flexibility
Consistency = Requiring everyone to do something the same way (or a core set of things the same way), in the interest of accelerating progress on a Common Purpose.
Flexibility = Allowing people to be creative in how they design strategies, measure success, tell their story, and do the on-the-ground work in support of a Common Purpose.
Consistency in data tracking and reporting is vital, but so is flexibility. As partnerships evolve and external conditions change, it may be necessary to adjust performance measures or data collection methods. Being flexible allows workforce development partnerships to adapt to new challenges without losing sight of their overall goals. However, this flexibility should always be balanced with a commitment to consistent, high-quality practices involving reporting data
One of the best ways to practice consistency is by requiring all partners to utilize shared measurement systems. Shared measurement systems usually consist of frameworks and centralized software systems that are designed to support a partnership’s data needs from collection to reporting. Utilizing shared measurement allows for better analysis across programs. It also increases the ease of navigation and organization of data. (Read part one of this blog to learn more about the importance of shared measurement).
In part 3 of this blog series, we will expand on shared measurement frameworks and software tools. Stay tuned for the next publication!
Learn more about consistency and flexibility >>
6. Never Report on Data Without the Story
Story Behind the Curve = A transparent analysis of the contributing and limiting factors that influence a data trendline.
This series is all about maximizing the measurable results of workforce development partnerships. However, data alone can never tell the full story. In Social Sector Hero, Luecking emphasizes the importance of contextualizing data (Indicators and Performance Measures) with narratives that explain the why and how behind the numbers.
When discussing community wellbeing or program performance, it’s important to provide qualitative information that explains why the data trendlines look the way they do. This is critical whether or not the data is heading in the right or wrong direction. Being mindful of the Story Behind the Curve can help your partnership design better strategies, reinforce what’s working, challenge assumptions, and discover new pathways to progress.
An Effective Story Behind the Curve does the Following 4 Things:
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- Lists and explains contributing factors
- Lists and explains limiting factors
- Pursues and proposes research on root causes where appropriate
- Surfaces and challenges assumptions
When reporting successes to stakeholders and the wider community, partners should also include stories that illustrate the real-world impact of workforce development efforts. These stories bring the data to life, making it more relatable and compelling for all audiences. For example, integrate stories about individuals’ experiences rather than only reporting impersonal statistics.
Learn more about how to create an effective Story Behind the Curve >>
7. Support Effective Dialogue
Effective Dialogue = Communication between two or more parties that results in 1) increased understanding and 2) taking action. Effective dialogue may occur in person or virtually, but face-to-face interactions are usually best. Participants must have opportunities to participate, speak their minds, and challenge assumptions. To do this, there must be respect and trust.
Effective data use is built on strong dialogue among partners. This means creating spaces where partners can openly discuss data, share insights, and collaboratively problem-solve. Facilitating these conversations ensures that data is not just collected but actively used to improve outcomes. This dialogue is key to fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the partnership.
One of hte best ways to support effective dialogue is to ask more effective questions. Effective questions are usually open-ended, focus on the positive, and foster action. Effective questions should create a sense of possibility while avoiding issues of blame that can trigger defensiveness.
Learn about four ways to support effective dialogue >>
8. Report Data Publicly
According to one 2019 study, “Nonprofits that are more transparent and share things publicly, like audited financial reporting, goals, strategies, capabilities, and metrics demonstrating progress and results, received 53 percent more in contributions compared with organizations that are less transparent.”
Transparency is a cornerstone of accountability. By reporting data publicly, workforce development partnerships can build trust with stakeholders and the broader community. Public reporting also encourages partners to stay committed to their shared goals, knowing that their progress (or lack thereof) will be visible to all. Whether through public dashboards, annual reports, or community meetings, making data publicly accessible reinforces the partnership’s commitment to achieving its workforce development objectives.
One of the best ways to share your data publicly is to make a dedicated “impact” page on your website. On your impact page, you can present your data, Stories Behind the Curve, and action plans for improvement. Remember, providing contextual information with the data is key, especially if the numbers don’t currently reflect your aspirations. Use the opportunity to present your plans for improvement. People will appreciate your honesty.
Learn more about this concept >>
Conclusion and Summary of the Eight Core Strategies
The eight strategies outlined in Social Sector Hero provide a powerful framework for workforce development partnerships aiming to achieve measurable results. By aligning with a common purpose, partnerships can ensure that all efforts are laser-focused on meaningful outcomes. Regular meetings and communication help maintain this alignment throughout the journey, fostering a collaborative environment where data is used to drive continuous improvement.
Adopting a “less is more” mindset by focusing on a select few key performance measures ensures that data collection and reporting are manageable and meaningful, allowing partners to concentrate on the most critical aspects of their work. Disaggregating data advances equity by revealing disparities that might otherwise go unnoticed, enabling targeted interventions that make a real difference in the lives of program participants.
The balance between consistency and flexibility allows partnerships to adapt to changing circumstances without losing sight of their core objectives. Reporting data alongside stories adds a human element that resonates with stakeholders and funders, while effective dialogue ensures that all voices are heard and valued within the partnership. Finally, public reporting of data reinforces transparency and accountability, building trust within the community and driving collective action.
By integrating these eight core strategies, workforce development partnerships can create a more cohesive, efficient, and impactful approach to addressing the complex challenges of workforce development.
Sneak Peak of Part Three: Setting Up Shared Frameworks and Measurement Systems
In our next blog post, “Setting Up Shared Frameworks and Measurement Systems,” we’ll explore how to create the infrastructure and common language needed to sustain successful workforce development partnerships. Building on the concepts of common purpose, consistency, public data sharing, sustained alignment, and effective dialogue discussed in Part 2, we’ll show you how shared systems can bring these ideas to life.
Additionally, by implementing shared measurement systems that everyone in the partnership can access and use, you’ll ensure that all partners remain aligned with your common purpose. These systems will help maintain consistency in data collection, facilitate transparent public reporting, and foster open dialogue, ultimately driving better outcomes for participants and communities. Get ready to learn how to set up the systems that will keep your partnership strong and focused on achieving measurable, impactful results.
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