Bridge Employer and Worker Worlds

Bridge employer and worker worlds
Program staff who are able to bridge employer and worker worlds have the unique ability to satisfy both employer and worker needs. They also:

• Help employers and workers develop a clear understanding of each others needs.
• Create better matches between employers and workers, which in turn leads to greater productivity, higher levels of job satisfaction, and increased job retention.
• Act as "interpreters" until a common language between the employer and worker is learned.
• Can show how each customer is benefiting the other and develop a process for ensuring each customer's needs are met.

Families Forward examples: East Metro Health Careers Institute and International Institute
Workforce Solutions provided work-site services for the East Metro Health Careers Institute project. They were valuable to management at the large health care organizations they served by:

• Solving small problems before they became big ones.
• Intervening between human resources and front line supervisors when
  it became clear staff were not skilled or comfortable in this area.
• Were better able to observe clients on-the-job and help them identify and prepare for appropriate career laddering paths.

International Institute created a cultural competency manual for employers and offered training to employers based on their research. Both solutions enabled their staff to create a stronger connection between workers and employers.