Because the 21st century workplace is increasingly complex and technical, businesses need an increasingly skilled workforce. Employers have taken on the challenge of workforce readiness training as workers enter their employment without the necessary skills and competencies to be fully productive. 

Corporate Voices has recently published a set of new micro-business cases with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation under its Postsecondary Completion Initiative.  The most recent micro-business case features the partnership between Convergys and Bellevue University and the Professional Customer Care Center Management Bachelor of Science degree program.

Convergys is a global leader in relationship management serving half of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies.  The company commits to improving business performance for their clients through innovative technologies and excellent management of their clients' relationships with their customers. With over two million interactions every day, the success of Convergys as a "people business" is dependent on employees with consistent technical and customer relations skills.

While 80 percent of the company's current managers have been promoted from within, Convergys deals with an industry turnover rate of 85 percent among customer care center agents. The company's goal is to retain top talent and to help those top performers grow professionally into the next cadre of managers.  Convergys needed a plan to develop people within current cost constraints.

After looking at four other educational institutions, Convergys partnered with Bellevue University, to serve adult learners. Bellevue moved swiftly to develop a series of 12 courses, tailored directly to the company's operations.  The courses lead to a Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Customer Care Center Management (P3CM).

The Convergys customer care center agent population is made up largely of 18-to-25 year old minority females. The P3CM program is designed to support the professional progress of this population throughout the organization.  P3CM completers have greater earning potential with the opportunity to move into supervisory positions with salary ranges of $35,000 to $60,000 following education/training.

The complete micro-business case can be found on Corporate Voices' website.

Supporting Working Mothers - An Imperative for America's Economy

On December 20, 2010, President Obama delegated authority to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to expand the "right to pump" provision for working mothers in the Affordable Care Act to all federal workers-exempt or nonexempt. This is significant because it demonstrates a recognition by the administration of the important health, business and management benefits of progressive practices like workplace support for nursing mothers. And, it is in line with the administration's willingness to lead by example on important public policy issues affecting the lives of working families. Earlier in December, President Obama signed the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 into law, paving the way for telework for federal workers.

In addition to the administration's actions to help support mothers in the workplace, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor has issued its preliminary interpretations of the "right to pump" provision, and is seeking public feedback and input through a "Request for Information," issued on December 21. To read more about how the Department has interpreted the "reasonable break time," space and enforcement issues in the provision, how you can submit feedback to the Department, and about Corporate Voices' forthcoming updated workplace lactation toolkit, read Corporate Voices' blog.

Business Leaders Agree: Workforce Readiness Is a Critical Business Imperative

Corporate Voices has released a report titled "What Are Business Leaders Saying About Workforce Readiness?". The report offers an in-depth analysis of a recent series of surveys and focus groups conducted with 150 American business leaders.

The report highlights the fact that 97 percent of the business leaders surveyed agree that workforce readiness is a critical business imperative.  They are deeply concerned about their future workforce and the cost of providing training to a generation of ill-prepared workers.  Furthermore, these leaders report it is imperative that top decision makers focus on workforce readiness and the talent development pipeline as a critical investment in their future productivity - not an additional expense.

"The skills gap affecting our businesses and communities today is recognized by both employers and the general public.  This recently released report is exciting because it builds on recent poll findings, conducted by Public Policy Polling, through the generous support of our member company, Workplace Options, Inc., that the general public agrees with employers - approximately 56 percent feel that more than a quarter of the nation's youth do not possess the skills they need to be prepared for work" stated Stephen M. Wing, President of Corporate Voices.

To help better prepare their future workforce, many businesses reported to have entered into community-wide partnerships.  Business leaders hope they can bring important private sector expertise and offer valuable assets to community organizations, including leadership, advocacy, infrastructure support and financial contributions.  But these same leaders report frequent challenges and frustrations in engaging and sustaining community partnerships, including:

• Lack of data delivered in a way to show the story of investments and the direct impact on youth and families;
• Frequency of duplicate conversations with community partners;
• Lack of transparency in the partnership from the community organization; and
• Lack of firm and measurable outcomes.

This report informs Corporate Voices' workforce readiness platform and three main areas of work: Ready by 21, Learn and Earn and Alternative Pathways for youth.  Through this work, Corporate Voices creates bridges between public and private entities ensuring that all stakeholders are coming together to find solutions that span the education and talent development pipeline from cradle to career to make certain that youth are ready for work and the U.S. remains competitive.