for this assignment follow the instruction respond with 500 words and develop a plan attached are resources to help

Develop a plan for an unusual method of marketing the skills of individuals and the services of your agency. Be creative! Provide this plan, with details regarding how it could be accomplished to your instructor.

Job Preparation

Before a job coach begins to market the skills of an individual and before job matches are made, the job coach needs to be confident that the person is prepared to go to work. Sometimes the coach will know the person is ready, sometimes the coach will have some questions, and for some individuals the coach may feel some actual job preparation work is necessary.

Melissa Mason was an employment specialist at the Tommy Nobis Center in Marietta, Georgia. She developed and provided a seven week job readiness courseand agreed to having the course description on our website. The inclusion of this course is meant to give you some ideas about things to think about when considering job preparation of individuals with whom you work. Job coaches who do not have access to any job preparation classes may even be able to consider developing their own classes or programs.

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivational_interviewing) defines motivational Interviewing: as “… a method that works on facilitating and engaging intrinsic motivation within the client in order to change behavior.” It is a goal-oriented, client-centered counseling style for helping people understand their conflicting attitudes about other people or things and to change their behavior. Motivational interviewing is an evidenced-based counseling approach that can be used to help individuals comply with treatment recommendations. http://www.nova.edu/gsc/forms/mi-techniques-skills.pdf

FYI

It is important to get job seekers involved in the marketing of their talents and services. Good marketing requires building friendships, paying attention to details, and offering your honest appraisal of jobs and job seekers’ desires. Remember that there are two customers: employers and people with disabilities.

A job developer must:

Learn about the business, its needs, and any personnel problems that it might have.

Identify the ways that a person with a disability can work in that business meeting its needs and solving its problems.

Develop hiring proposals and expedite decisions to hire people who have disabilities.

Marketing and job development are critical functions which, if performed well, will contribute to the job seeker’s success on the job, as well as the success of the entire organization. You must approach these activities with creativity and a clear plan of action. Marketing efforts are directed towards two constituents: 1) community employers; and 2) individuals who are seeking employment. Specifically, when talking with community employers, the service you will focus on is the availability of a large and excellent pool of employable persons as well as a knowledgeable consultant to help with job development, placement and on–going support. Personnel features include pre–screening applicants and assisting with coordination of scheduled interviews or job assessments; your assistance may include job analysis, job restructuring, and provision of information about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Although marketing to community employers is an important aspect of your job and your ability to assist job seekers in finding employment, you need to market and “sell” positions to job seekers. In a system that values choice and empowerment, job seekers need to understand and value the opportunity for employment, also. What an individual wants to do in the workplace and what an employer expects from the individual as an employee are variables in making a successful match. Job development involves helping people “sell themselves” for specific positions. The primary person is always the job seeker.

Although employers are the primary target of your marketing activities, involving individuals with disabilities further enhances an organization’s responsiveness to their needs. You also can use your knowledge of issues concerning people with disabilities to assist businesses with meeting these needs; you can be responsive to questions and assist them in gaining information valuable to the business.

What are the key components to marketing and job development?

• Contacting Employers
• Relationship Building
• Service Marketing
• Information Networking
• Maintaining a system for organizing information about businesses and your contacts with them. This should include new businesses and the types of available jobs.

Contacting Employers

The Job Development Handbook: Facilitating Employer Decisions to Hire People with Disabilities (Nietupski, J., Verstegen, D., & Petty, D. M., 1995, Knoxville, TN: The University of Tennessee) is an excellent reference and includes much good information about job development and marketing. This book provides information about the Cold Call Model (contacting an employer directly) and the Referral Model (use of community support and advocacy to interest an employer in hiring people with whom you work).

During the first meeting with an employer, you will get information that will tell you whether the employer has enough interest that you should spend time learning more about the business and explaining the services you have to offer. First, define your services and the key benefits and then get important information about the company.

What are the different job functions in the business?

Is the employer’s workforce growing?

Have any people with disabilities been hired by the employer?

What does the employer need?

What benefits can you offer to the employer?

Are there routine duties that keep staff from the most critical functions?

Is there a department in which turnover is higher than in other departments?

What training and support is given to new employees?

Importance of community image and involvement to the company?

Experience in finding reliable employees?

You can ask the employer if your services would be beneficial to him in the above areas. If he/she shows interest, you should identify anyone other than the employer who will be involved in the hiring decision and how hiring decisions are made. Identify a time to conduct a site visit.

During the site visit, you can meet key people in the company, learn about their willingness to hire people with disabilities, determine job duties that individuals might perform, and evaluate the available supports and workplace culture. When you meet a new person or visit a department for the first time, you should briefly define your services and ask staff to pinpoint any needs they have that might help you identify a job or carve a job for an individual. Develop a list of potential duties and be sure to note the frequency of the duty, how long it takes to perform the duty, and aspects of the duty such as speed and accuracy. Develop a hiring proposal and present it to the employer.

The presentation of a hiring proposal demonstrates your professionalism and is strengthened by the accuracy of the information you obtained during the site visit. In addition, you are demonstrating effort to assist the company. In your proposal:

demonstrate the benefits the employer will gain,

describe the position or proposed position and its duties,

describe the capabilities, experience, and support needs of the job candidate/s,

indicate the hours, wages, and any savings the employer may realize,

and, suggest dates for the job candidate’s interview, start date, and first performance review.

RELATIONSHIP BUILDING

Good jobs can be developed through developing good relationships with employers.

Some ideas for building relationships and making connections within the business community are:

• Use a computer to find job referral networks. This may include the use of social media.
• Conduct surveys at businesses that include jobs of interest to consumers.
• Develop relationships with economic development organizations.
• Participate in employer based groups such as the Chamber of Commerce and get involved with civic organizations in the community.
• Whenever possible, get on the agenda and make presentations to parent groups, individuals with disabilities and their advocacy groups, business organizations, the Chamber of Commerce, other service providers, and employers.
• Publicize successes and services of your agency in radio, TV, newspaper, and newsletter reports.
• Present awards to employers and get news coverage.
• Design a logo and slogan to put on T-shirts and other clothing for staff to wear at civic events and, when appropriate, at job sites.

Marketing Your Services

It is important that the individuals with whom you work and employers who may hire them know what you have to offer. Being able to “sell” your services or what your agency provides is a critical factor of the marketing process.

What would an employer or a job candidate want? Think about your services and a way to offer services in an attractive and forward-thinking manner. Your agency might not have money to develop marketing resources, but think about how you can be an advocate for your services; think about your ability to articulate and sell what you offer. The facts are simple: employers need conscientious, motivated employees and you have contacts with individuals who bring a variety of skills and abilities to an organization. Also, you are able to offer job candidates a chance to find employment in positions that they feel best match their job goals. You are a key part of the process and both constituents need you to assist in this service.

Information networking

It is important to exchange information with all available persons and to mobilize networks to make connections with businesses in the community. This function is shared by job candidates, family members, board members, management, direct service staff, and administrative staff.

Your goal is to get everyone to cooperate so that the job candidate can obtain a desired job and successfully complete the work tasks of that job. You must gather all information these individuals have and share information that you have. If everyone works together, each person’s knowledge and influence can be used in locating a good job.

Keep notes about what you learn, and always indicate what the next step will be.

Marketing Plan

Marketing requires a creative plan of action and ongoing evaluation of the plan. The plan of action identifies the niche or service, competition, resources, customers served, and the outcomes that are expected. Such planning provides an overall strategy and framework for achieving success.

1. What is the mission of the organization? A typical agency might have a mission statement that addresses the integration of people with disabilities into competitive employment. Most businesses have a mission statement that relates to serving the needs of their customers.
2. What are the abilities and preferences of the individuals seeking jobs? Although this answer may vary, it gives you some direction as to the types of employment opportunities that will need to be pursued as well as the support needs of job seekers. This information will help you develop a framework of the services that are offered.
3. Who are the potential employers? As mentioned earlier, you must meet the needs of two constituents: employers and people seeking jobs. Marketing activities are specifically designed and developed with each one in mind. Therefore, your organization must delineate the activities and materials for each of these two audiences.
4. What are the needs of these employers? Once an employer has been identified, a thorough analysis will indicate specific needs. Possible employer needs may include consultation on the ADA, competent personnel to fill specific positions, job analysis, and task analysis. Job candidate needs may include developing a functional resume, role-playing an interview, identifying a job of choice, and developing a support network.
5. What services will be offered to satisfy employer needs? Specific services should be targeted to specific audiences. As mentioned above, services may vary but it is important that your organization determine what will be offered and who will offer these services.
6. What are the current economic trends? Learning about the community and surrounding communities that have available jobs is a critical part of marketing. You must learn about different companies and businesses, employment opportunities, and changes in the economic community. By conducting a labor analysis, you can help determine a path that your organization can pursue. A service niche can be determined when you know what jobs are developing and what jobs exist.
7. What outcomes are expected? Outcomes for individuals include gaining jobs of choice, reaching career goals, and finding satisfaction in employment. Although the number of individuals working is usually the driving force for most agencies, quality is a key component to insuring success. Outcomes must include filling individuals’ needs as well as satisfying employers.
8. What is the message to employers? The message must be designed for specific employers. Marketing materials such as brochures should be developed both for employers and for individuals seeking jobs. The organization should have a promotional brochure which addresses the needs of employers and a brochure designed to address the needs of individuals with disabilities. Marketing materials must be current, must convey an accurate message, and must be professional and concise.
9. What financial and personnel resources are available? The agency must identify funds and personnel available for developing marketing materials and engaging in marketing activities. Although everyone should be involved in this part of the process, not everyone can be involved on a daily basis. The responsibility may be given to one person. All individuals in the organization should have the ability to provide input and offer ideas.
10. What is the promotional plan? A promotional plan involves determining the most cost-effective marketing strategies based on resources available and identifies desired outcomes. Activities may include public service announcements, public speaking engagements, attending civic and community meetings, offering specific training to employers, and “word of mouth” advertising.
11. What tools will be used? Marketing tools or materials include brochures, flyers, business cards, and newsletters. Although these are traditional forms of communicating, it is important to market with specificity regarding the customer and to remember to use appropriate language. More non-traditional ideas may include purchasing advertising spots in a community theater event, mass faxes, magazine and newspaper articles, inserts in corporate and business newsletters, information posted at public places, web page design, and pens or notepads with the agency logo.
12. How will success be measured? Success is measured by evaluating individual satisfaction. An organization must evaluate whether or not individuals are satisfied with the services offered and delivered in order to determine how current marketing efforts are working.

Networking and Business Partnerships

Developing corporate relationships and business linkages for building strong future business relationships is extremely important. Sometimes job coaches and employment specialists focus on gaining a connection with a business exclusively for the purpose of obtaining a job for one person. Although the ultimate goal is to assist each person in obtaining employment and building a career, solely pursuing a single job at a time is shortsighted. Marketing and job development can form a solid base for future employment.

The best route to developing jobs is through building solid trusting relationships with individuals in the business community. Conducting informational interviews with employers (alone or with individuals who are seeking employment) creates a large pool of businesses that are interested in the services offered by you and your agency.

Using the information from an extensive labor market analysis will help form the building blocks for creating these relationships. Your analysis of the companies in the community will help you to identify the market for individual job interests and abilities.

Informational Interviewing

The first interview with the employer should be structured to obtain key pieces of information about the company and, if applicable, about specific job openings. This process is referred to as informational interviewing. Four major areas should be addressed during this meeting:

• Obtain information such as the size of business, the types of products and/or services that are available through the business, and the name of a contact person.
• Obtain information related to personnel needs, practices, and experience. What are the hiring practices, length of time required for the hiring process, experiences with job accommodations, projected hiring needs, and services that will be required from your agency.
• Gain information related to the company’s production and quality needs as well as products and services.
• Gain information about any employment needs that the company currently has or expects to experience in the future.

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