Reference no: EM133426921

1. Evaluate Ridge's Eight Factors for Successful Implementation (Table 2).

2. Highlight potential variables affecting their execution.

3. What questions do you have that remain unanswered? Be specific for each factor. ( critical reflection)

4. Finally, provide a recommendation for any areas/processes/factors that can be formalized. Why do you believe, this factor needs to be formalized? Make sure to provide an outline of any procedures or processes required. (e.g: In assessing factor #8: Accountability: How does Charlottesville Works ensure recruits remain employed? Potential solutions can include providing a timeline of bi-monthly check-ins from peer support to follow with a structured protocol of focused questions and recommended benchmarks

Case Study:-

Our purpose is to help families who are striving to achieve self-reliance in our community by identifying and helping create jobs within their reach and positioning them to secure and excel in those jobs - real jobs for real people. -Ridge Schuyler ...to aid and support the economic, social, cultural, and human development... to advance the commercial, industrial, civic, and general economic interests... to encourage, assist, and promote the business development of Greater Charlottesville so as to strengthen the economy of the area, reduce unemployment and underemployment, and eliminate poverty...

-Mission of the Greater Charlottesville Area Development Corporation:-

While organizing his home office, Ridge Schuyler pored over his parting gift from his time as campaign manager of Tom Perriello's 2010 Congressional campaign: a map of the 5th congressional district, an area he had grown to know intimately while canvassing from door to door and meeting with constituents from all walks of life. One of the side tabs, he noticed, was a map that used census tract data to show household incomes. While toying with it, Albemarle County caught his eye because-although colored predominantly dark green (signaling high income households)-it was dotted with orange-colored areas (indicating families living under the federal poverty line), which are neighborhoods of inopportunity (see Appendix A). How could such vast income inequality exist within the same county? Troubled, Ridge travelled around the community and began placing faces to the "orange dots"-exhausted men walking across Garrett Street from the supportive housing projects into the Congressman's office, pleading "I just want a job," low-income single mothers waiting at bus stops struggling to make ends meet, and families suffering from unemployment and lack of opportunity in a city of robust job growth and a vibrant local economy fueled by large employers such as the University of Virginia. Discussing his concerns with Tim Hulbert, President of the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce over breakfast at The Nook, a popular downtown diner, Ridge decided to take action.

How It All Began: "The Orange Dot Report":-

Ridge spent the next several months compiling his research into "The Orange Dot Report" (Schuyler, 2015): a systematic overview of income inequality in the Albemarle County region and a call to action for the local community (reproduced in part throughout this case). He found that one out of every four families in Charlottesville did not earn enough to pay for the essentials of life, such as food, shelter, clothing, and utilities, as well as childcare and transportation. Worryingly, most of these families were single mothers with multiple children. Most had not graduated from high school and lacked technical skills. Research suggested that children born into poverty were "trapped" into a cycle of poverty due to lack of resources growing up, such as a quality education and opportunities for positive growth. The key to breaking that cycle, Ridge believed, was not just focusing on helping children; advocates also needed to help their parents find well-paying jobs that led to lifelong careers and the possibility of upward mobility. Pondering these issues, Ridge reflected on his days on the road, going from door to door with Tom Perriello. He thought about the grassroots approach in politics, and how campaigning was built around forming human relationships with sporadic voters who were disconnected from mainstream institutions and disenchanted with the political process. Like the individuals stuck in poverty, sporadic voters distrusted the impersonal system, felt they "did not matter," and could not be reached through conventional means such as online or newspaper advertisements. Often, what these individuals needed was a human face to talk to them about why their voice mattered and encourage them to vote. What if, Ridge thought, instead of harnessing social ties to tackle sporadic voters, he could use the organic social networks of the community to tackle poverty? As Ridge began to coordinate his first cohort through the employment process, he noticed two consistent issues that had deterred individuals from becoming employed in the past. One was the jobs-skills mismatch; potential employees did not qualify for positions that required training, such as medical assistant positions. However, most jobs offered did not require a high school diploma or General Equivalency Diploma equivalent in addition to training, and the technical skills training process also generally lasted for short periods of time. Why then were individuals not completing training? Ridge found that relatively mundane issues, such as lack of childcare and transportation, prevented them from consistently attending training. Once an individual missed one week of training due to something as simple as having a babysitter cancel or missing the bus, they grew discouraged and were less likely to follow through and complete training. Another was the jobseeker-information mismatch; conventional methods of posting job openings were not getting to jobseekers, leaving both individuals and companies distressed. Posting employment opportunities online makes it impossible for those without consistent access to or sufficient knowledge about the internet to learn of opportunities. Those who do follow through with the online application are confronted with an intimidating bureaucracy. Even mailing a paper job catalog made individuals feel like they were receiving impersonal messages from institutions they felt had not served them in the past. On the flip side, employers were flustered by the difficulty of finding and hiring skilled workers, despite well-paying openings. This information al asymmetry created a fundamental barrier in the hiring process, leaving both individuals unemployed and positions unfilled. This case study is structured as follows. First, we provide an overview of how the idea of Charlottesville Works was conceived and the systemic issues it addresses. We then provide an overview of social network theory and explore how peer networks address poverty using social capital. Next, we explore key success factors for a successful peer network model, as well as its impact on individuals and communities. Finally, we conclude with a review of achievements of the first Charlottesville Works cohort. We pose discussion of what internal decisions must be made to scale the organization beyond Charlottesville by reflecting on its strengths and weaknesses. How can Ridge preserve the efficacy of the social network model while simultaneously formalizing and expanding it?

 

Charlottesville Works Is Born:-

Ridge brought these thoughts with his report back to Tim Hulbert at the Chamber offices. What is needed, he argued, is to fight poverty and promote self-sufficiency through stable employment with opportunities for advancement. Tim agreed; he believed a job was "the single most effective anti-poverty program ever invented." (Note that all quotes in this case study are from interviews conducted by author Stefano Rumi from August to November 2017.) Ridge had four action items to combat poverty. First, a real, sustainable job that paid more than $25,000 annually was needed. Second, the job and employee had to be a good match, meaning that the jobseeker would need the right skills and attitude to be employed. Third, to prepare a jobseeker, substantial barriers to employment had to be resolved early in the process and comprehensively. Finally, this support had to be on-going, even after a jobseeker found a job. To achieve wide-scale employment, Ridge proposed a novel pipeline that would use peer networks and social ties to identify quality jobseekers outside of the mainstream job market and link them to specific employment opportunities (see Appendix B). The pipeline would guide the candidate through the entire process of finding and training for a job, not through case management, but through the individual's own peers who would sign up to help. Unlike case workers, peers knew these individuals as friends, not clients, and could provide deep emotional support and encouragement in addition to assistance navigating the employment process and dealing with emergencies. Many of these peers were active in their communities already and committed to helping those in need whenever they could. Rather than serve as a social service provider, Charlottesville Works would act as a "motherboard" connecting individuals to community-wide providers who could best suit their needs and employment opportunities that were a perfect or near-perfect match for each person. Tim decided to sponsor "The Charlottesville Works Initiative" through an affiliated 501c (3) nonprofit, the Greater Charlottesville Area Development Corporation. Hulbert also believed that Charlottesville Works represented the mission of the Chamber, which was founded to not only represent private enterprises, but also increase quality of life and opportunity in Charlottesville. This partnership helped Ridge formally accept financial contributions from philanthropic donors and get the initiative off the ground. In October 2014, Ridge found himself at the helm of Charlottesville Works, an innovative pilot program of two peers and ten jobseekers that has since grown into a robust initiative training a total of more than three hundred jobseekers through the help of hundreds of peers, employers, and community members across Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

 

The Role of Social Networks in Addressing Poverty :

Social Network and Social Capital Theory :-

Social network theory and the concept of social capital have seen a recent revival in the social sciences, as well as in the business and philanthropic worlds. Social networks constitute all the friends and connections in our daily lives that we can call upon and use. Sociologist Robert Putnam defines social capital as "features of social organizations such as trust, norms, and networks, that can improve the efficiency of society by facilitating coordinated actions" (Putnam, Leonardi, & Nanetti, 1993). Social capital, like human capital, is the ability for individuals to use their networks to solve problems and find new opportunities, such as employment. Individuals with a large number of connections throughout the community, therefore, are best positioned to use their social networks to find out about opportunities and connect them to their friends and acquaintances. 1 Research suggests that social capital can help combat social and economic disadvantage. It also cultivates a new type of citizen who takes the lead in solving social problems and utilizes their skills and knowledge in an impact-oriented manner (Gemmell, Boland, & Kolb, 2012). Furthermore, such efforts facilitate interaction among citizens and local leaders (Martins, & Terblanche, 2003). One study found that nearly one-half of their sample of jobseekers found work through informal channels such as their social network (Völker & Flap, 1999). Other studies demonstrated that low-income individuals rely on their social networks for assistance with many aspects of daily life, such as childcare and transportation (Lin, 2002). Social network theory underscores the crucial value of peers and our social circles in important processes such as finding a job, looking for a home in a better neighborhood, or seeking other opportunities that are unfamiliar or not in the immediate vicinity. A comprehensive study of Charlottesville families in a 2003 needs assessment found that "...in all focus groups, [participants] confirmed that they are likely to go to family and friends first when they need assistance. They also reported that they are likely to go to a knowledgeable 'grassroots' community leader for assistance" (Charlottesville/Albemarle Commission on Children and Families, 2003). The report concluded that Charlottesville should "develop a cadre of knowledgeable neighborhood lay leaders to serve as information sources in their communities." Although everyone uses social networks to function in daily life, they are especially important for the underprivileged in getting by from day to day and finding opportunities. Low income families who remain spatially segregated in poor neighborhoods are physically removed from neighborhoods of opportunity. To travel to these neighborhoods, those who lack cars must use public transportation (when available), often hours at a time. Compounded with lack of access to or knowledge about the internet, low income families are left spatially and socially stranded, and must rely almost entirely on social connections and word of mouth to find out about opportunities.

 

How Peer Networks Address Poverty :-

Drawing from his grassroots campaign experience, Ridge believed that the key to the success of Charlottesville Works in dismantling systemic barriers to employment and trauma was to harness existing social networks to connect to individuals in need who were socially isolated. In order to access low income families' networks, Charlottesville Works relied on peers to assist in identifying potential job applicants. Peers are individuals who are at the center of their social networks and are prominent members of their community, who know most people in their neighborhood, and who are relied on for information and advice. Charlottesville Works utilized two types of peers: program peers; and affinity peers. Program peers were professionals who work directly with individuals living in poverty. Affinity peers were friends and acquaintances who worked personally with individuals. These peers interacted directly with individuals, knew their personal strengths and limitations, and provided emotional support and encouragement daily. Peers had a personal relationship with jobseekers and had a built-up relationship of trust beforehand. This personal relationship made peers the best candidates to identify jobseeker acquaintances who were not identified in formal networks. And because they are also members of the community, peers could be relied on and trusted by jobseekers to treat them as friends, not social cases. Figure 1 outlines the actions peers undertook to assist jobseekers. Peers began with information on a job opening and prepared individuals to meet the necessary qualifications. Ongoing support was provided, even after employment, to make sure the individual was sustainably employed.

The mission of the peer network was to harness the supportive relationships peers share with disadvantaged individuals to provide actionable information on high-quality jobs and community resources to prepare them for gainful employment. Avoiding the intimidating, impersonal bureaucracy, Charlottesville Works created a pathway to self-sufficiency that provides holistic support and guidance from trusted friends. Rydell Payne was one of the first peers to join Charlottesville Works. He found that being a peer is about being compassionate and having a general relationship with a jobseeker. Peers filled gaps that occur in the job search process, and thus needed to be flexible and accommodating. "Although peers can't solve everything," he says, "they help individuals take advantage of services already being offered and build an emotional foundation for their lives." While peers filled a valuable and organic role in assisting their social connections through the job process, the peer network model also had various weaknesses (see Table 1). For example, although all peers undergo training beforehand, Ridge could not guarantee the same level of quality assistance for all jobseekers. Some peer coordinators may not have been equipped to assist jobseekers with special circumstances, or otherwise SAGE © Stefano Rumi and Balashankar Mulloth 2019 SAGE Business Cases Page 8 of 17 Charlottesville Works: Harnessing Social Networks to Promote Employment and Fight Poverty could not commit the necessary time to ensure completion of the pipeline. While Ridge's first cohort were often handpicked, and thus exemplary peers, he could not guarantee the same level of commitment and knowledge with peers he did not know in other communities, despite a thorough training process. In addition, the voluntary nature of peers made scalability uncertain. Although Ridge could count on conveying the mission of Charlottesville Works to motivate peers, it was possible that as the program expanded and the role of peer networks became more complex and time-consuming, some peers would decline to participate. Ridge was unsure if Charlottesville Works could continue expanding based on voluntary commitments alone.

 

 

 

Table 2: Eight Factors for Successful Implementation:-

1. Jobs: The first step to self-sufficiency is the availability of opportunities for steady and sustainable employment. Quality jobs must pay over $25,000 but not require a college degree Examples: certified nursing assistants, electricians, bus drivers, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning maintenance technicians, and administrative assistants

2. Job information: Employers need to communicate information about job openings in ways that can be quickly leveraged to find ideal candidates. Information, such as job requirements, benefits, and other "actionable intelligence" helps peers formulate an "ideal mold" to fill with an individual they are familiar with

3. Peer network: In order to convey these opportunities to unemployed or low-income individuals without access to mainstream broadcast methods, employers need to rely on peers who are part of their social network

4. Assessment : In order to connect the best candidates to a job, peers should receive training on identification, assessment, and coordination of candidates

5. Ongoing support: Peers should aim to provide on-going support throughout the employment process and for up to twelve months after successful employment

6. Resource providers: Individuals will need plenty of help integrating themselves into stable employment. Charlottesville Works takes advantage of ex isting social networks to link individuals to the community service provider that is best-suited to their need

7. Coordination : Peers need to properly coordinate resource specialists to each individual and assist them through the process from start to finish

8. Accountability : After going through the pathway, peers must make sure that jobseekers are ready to work and can stay employed. This is accomplished by supporting the individual even after the training process with encouragement and assistance.