There is a wonderful scene in 2008’s The Dark Knight that takes place right after The Joker has stolen all of the money from Gotham’s gangsters. Standing in front of a mountain of cash…with the gangsters’ accountant atop…The Joker has a confrontation with The Chechen, one of the mobsters from whom The Joker has stolen money. During the confrontation, and just as The Joker has the Chechen killed and burns all of the cash, The Joker summarizes his very existence. In doing so, he provides some interesting insight and thought process that every workforce professional should adopt. He is quoted as saying,
I like dynamite, and gunpowder... And gasoline! Do you know what all of these things have in common? They're cheap…
This town deserves a better class of criminal, and I’m gonna give it to them…
It’s not about the money…everything burns…
What do a maniacal character’s quotes have to do with workforce development? Everything.
Lesson One: Gunpowder and Gasoline
The Joker has mastered the art of doing more with less. Workforce Development Professionals…and social workers in general for that matter…constantly complain about a lack of resources. There will always be a lack of resources! Workforce Pros need to accept this and move on. Instead of making excuses for under-performance or job difficulty, workforce professionals need to make better use of the resources that are available.
First, almost every employer in the country is trying to fill positions. Talking with these employers and making referrals costs nothing but time. Workforce Pros will say they do not have the time, but employment for clients is the very reason workforce programs exist. Make time. Scrap the unnecessary classroom activities that rarely lead to employment and instead start visiting employers. Learn about their business, career paths, training opportunities, benefits, etc. Bring this information back to your clients. People enroll in a workforce development program hoping it will help them get a job. So, help them get a job. This core duty that Workforce Pros are charged with costs absolutely nothing, yet most workforce programs have little or no connection with local employers.
Second, technology is free and available everywhere. Use it! Take some time to learn about LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc., and help your job seekers understand how to use these tools for networking purposes. The majority of the nation’s job market is hidden from public classifieds, but hidden job vacancies can be discovered through networking with online contacts, attending virtual job fairs or signing up for free newsletters. Simply go to Twitter, create an account and pick 100 companies to follow. The Workforce Pro who does this today will have dozens of job leads tomorrow.
If The Joker can turn Gotham City upside down with a few kegs of gunpowder and a couple barrels of gasoline, Workforce Pros can turn their program success upside down simply by using free resources to generate more career opportunities.
Lesson Two: This Town Deserves a Better Class of Criminal
Too many job seekers have ‘checked out’ of the job search process, and the lack of service provided at employment centers is largely to blame. Various reports and studies indicate that about 5% of job seekers having secured employment did so utilizing resources provided at a local or state-run employment center. That is a miserable number considering the great many people who have sought services or have been referred to an employment center since 2008. Yet, employment centers will report job placement rates as high as 60% and 70%. One center in Pittsburgh, PA recently reported a 100% job placement rate! Career Services Departments at proprietary schools have gotten into a lot of trouble with the government for the reporting of similar data. So, why the disparities? Basically, because most employment centers lie about their numbers. In many cases, the service provided does not reflect the outcomes reported. This practice has become way too common in workforce development, and it needs to change. It is criminal to provide less-than-stellar service and report effectual results.
When the criminals in Gotham City became too boring, The Joker arrived to “introduce a little anarchy.” Workforce Pros do not have to blow up a city, but they need to introduce a little anarchy to the industry. It is time to challenge the status quo. Workforce Professionals can do this through a series of simple steps that will at first seem quite radical, but ultimately will prove beneficial to clients.
Step 1 – Decrease Service Hours to Just a Few Hours per Week
What? Really? Yes. Run a two-hour Job Club one day each week. Follow that with a two to three hour job application workshop. Reserve an hour or two per week for employer and/or service provider presentations during which time job seekers can learn soft skills and learn about opportunities. Once direct service time is reduced to six or so hours each week, reserve the rest of your time to get out, network, and generate information from which your clients will benefit. Think about it: How many hours are wasted when Workforce Pros sit around waiting for ‘no show’ appointments anyway?
Step 2 – Work Evenings and Weekends
Oh, the horror! The Joker does not stop wreaking havoc at 5 PM when it’s punch-out time because he knows there are plenty more hours in the day to get things done. There is one simple reason why Workforce Pros have to put in extra hours in order to be successful: You cannot job develop during the day because business owners, recruiters, etc. work during the day! If a Workforce Pro is cold calling a business at 2:00 PM, that Pro is not only networking improperly but also interrupting somebody else’s workday – go meet them at a more convenient time.
Job seekers, especially those who are desperate and lack resources, deserve better service from One-Stops, Neighborhood Employment Centers and the like. There are many great employment programs across the country, but unfortunately there are too many not making the grade. Workforce Pros, given the nature of their work and agency contributions, could revolutionize their industry. Job seekers would be better served, and agencies could proudly report factual data related to services rendered.
Lesson Three: It’s Not About the Money
Unfortunately, the world of social service has turned into a combat arena where non-profits and government funded agencies battle over scraps in order to survive. The industry preaches collaboration, yet true collaborative efforts are the exception instead of the norm. The non-profit world has turned into a cutthroat, competitive environment in which some agencies, like Gotham’s criminals, have managed to ‘scratch out a small profit’, but that profit does not translate into program improvement. This is why agencies cook-the-books or misguide students upon enrollment. Funding determines a program’s success, and the numbers dictate the amount of funding a program receives. Just like corporate America, the giant-sized agencies continue to profit while smaller, often more impactful agencies, struggle to survive. It is a model that will eventually burn.
Proprietary schools learned this lesson the hard way in 2014. The only thing Congress and The White House agreed on in the past eight years is that schools will no longer get away with misrepresentation to potential students or clients. Corinthian Colleges, ITT Tech Schools, EDMC and others have had to change their business models in order to survive; hopefully, these changes will lead to better service for students and clients. This level of scrutiny is bound to visit non-profits and government agencies. For too long, there has been a lack of accountability in workforce development and social services. Agencies that want to survive and are truly committed to serving communities will have to change the way they do business. Workforce Professionals are in a prime position to lead the way. Often, a job developer or career counselor serves as an agency’s point-of-contact to the business community. Workforce Pros can lead the way by building collaborations, sharing resources with other agencies and establishing relationships with corporations that may be inclined to support a social cause or mission. It’s not about money; it’s about service. Still, the reality is that every agency needs to generate funds. That’s not a Workforce Professional’s job though Workforce Pros can contribute by demonstrating results.
It is Harvey Dent, Gotham’s DA, who has one of the movie’s most memorable quotes:
The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming.
Harvey has the hope, but The Joker (despite what he says in the movie) has an actual plan. It may seem crazy to follow the blueprint of a madman, but the truth is that The Joker’s antics provide pure, practical steps that workforce programs can follow in order to better serve job seekers. According to Dent and The Dark Knight himself, “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” Workforce Development has become its own worst enemy…its own villain. It is time to introduce a little anarchy in order to better serve job seekers and to better survive. Be a hero, Workforce Pros; get out on that limb and take a risk. You, your agency and your clients will be thankful that you did. And who knows, like The Joker, you might even have a little fun.
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