The unstable nature of the Hub's target population makes it ideal for an intensive program devoted to empowering the individual. Entry-level employees tend to work low paying, labor intensive jobs requiring few skills and long hours. High turnover is common due to the undesirable nature of the work; almost fifty percent of entry-level employees leave Stanford within six months. Minorities and those with poor English skills compose a majority of the population, and some are not literate in their native language. At Stanford, the majority of entry-level positions are filled by Spanish-speaking people, as well as those speaking primarily Tongan, Filipino, or Chinese. Adding to the strain on these individuals is their daily commute; many low-income workers live outside of the Peninsula due to inflated housing prices and the cost of living in the Bay Area.
The Hub program will initially target workers in food preparation, food management, building cleaning, and grounds maintenance, as they are the most in need of direction and support. According to projections for 2000-2010 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics these entry-level positions have average growth rates between ten and twenty percent. The exception is grounds maintenance, which may have a faster-than-average job growth rate varying from twenty-one to thirty-five percent. Job growth in these positions is in part due to the high turnover rate commonly associated with labor intensive, low-paying jobs. During the pilot program, the number of participants will be limited by the number of entry-level workers placed full time by Springboard Forward who wish to participate.
Two partnerships are essential to establishing a model site for the Hub: partnerships with the employer and partnerships with the non-profit job-placement agency. The employer provides the site and operations of the program, as well as a source of mentors, mentees, and resources. The non-profit job-placement agency is the vehicle for finding mentees, although in time the Hub will target all new entry-level employees at the program site.
Partnering with large employers increases the pool of potential participants, brings mentor pairs together more easily, and fosters a mentoring community. With a large pool of mentors, matching mentees with mentors according to their ethnicity, interests, or primary language will be feasible. A good program site has many entry-level positions that are are open to future advancement. The Hub will also target employers who offer a good range of benefits to employees.
Without a doubt, Stanford is an excellent initial program site, as it employs a staff of 10,000, about ten percent of which are entry-level. Additionally, it offers excellent benefits and resources to its employees. Unfortunately, Stanford has not found a method successful in ensuring entry-level employees take advantage of these resources. Some attribute low use rates to a lack of translated material and a lack of supported programming. We hope to work closely with the University's Human Resource and Development Department to tailor our program for participants.
The Bay Area contains several non-profit staffing agencies, but they do not compose a majority of the market. However, Stanford uses at least two job placement agencies to locate new employees, one of them being Springboard Forward, our partner for the Hub's pilot program. Because of the extensive screening process integrated into this agency's admittance criteria, graduates of the Springboard program are ideal mentees. Springboard is currently trying to develop its mentoring and career advancement services. Our program would be able to provide these services through a specialized curriculum that is individually tailored from participant feedback.
Our program creates success through streamlining existing programs into a program built upon cooperative self-help.
The Hub's first innovation is adding value to existing organizations by strengthening partnerships and optimizing the ability of employees to help themselves. Large employers, like Stanford, offer many benefits for their employees such as retirement plans and tuition assistance programs. Though employers offer new-employee orientation sessions and perhaps employ a staff member to assist in navigating these opportunities, many employees still do not take advantage of the benefits available to them. By providing mentees with personal attention through the mentor, the Hub turns "Benefits" from an intimidating and complex pamphlet into a tangible reality.
Secondly, although the employee handbook includes critical employer-specific benefits workers should become acquainted with, community-based resources are often not mentioned. The Hub provides mentors and mentees with information and step-by-step instructions on how to take advantage of local agencies that provide services like affordable or transitional housing, inexpensive childcare, and academic or social programs for children. In the Hub program, mentees gain experience in working with the system and learning to make educated decisions that will improve their lives and the lives of their family members.
A third distinctive element of the program is that it does not stop at job training or placement. It aims for job support and advancement. The jobs available after a job training program can only provide them with a modest income and a weak sense of stability. Most existing programs only target the first-stage of moving homeless and jobless families into work and permanent housing. The Hub focuses on long-term success, where higher-level staff members (mentors) will provide the networking opportunities necessary for participants to advance their careers.
Mentors who have been through the process possess invaluable first-hand experience that will allow them to advise their mentees on things a Summary of Benefits catalog never could. From effective ways to approach a superior on certain issues to knowing the right person to contact or place to go, mentors can truly help entry-level employees in ways that are not easily articulated on a sheet of paper.
Finally, the Hub will create a supportive community of employees from different departments within the large employer. The mentoring relationships involve employees who have the shared experience of struggling in the job market, thus fostering and strengthening the mentoring community. Whether the Hub is helping organize a carpool schedule or running social events for program participants and their families, it brings employees together and cultivates friendships. The Hub creates a community that will help employees feel comfortable and at home in their workplace.
In its early stages, the Hub will serve employees placed into the target employer by the nonprofit staffing agency. For example, Springboard is currently placing employees at Stanford, and in the future hopes to place 60 to 90 employees at Stanford every year. The pilot program will begin by creating up to forty mentoring pairs. Once the program is firmly established, it will grow to accommodate additional employees, creating a network and community of support for all interested entry-level employees working for the large employer.
In order to continue improving and expanding its services, the Hub will constantly evaluate its target market. Working with BenefitSU and the HR department at Stanford, the Hub staff will evaluate the status of employees at Stanford. The Hub staff will find data to assess how many employees are utilizing benefits, their rate of promotion, turnover rates, language abilities, income levels of traditionally underserved employees, and the educational background of new employees. If certain information is not currently collected by Stanford departments, the Hub staff can create a method--perhaps a survey administered during Stanford 101--to find out the needed information. This information will allow the Hub to adapt its curriculum and services to fit the needs of its participants. For example, if there is a large population of new Mandarin-speaking employees soon to be working at Stanford, the Hub will direct marketing attention toward recruiting bilingual Mandarin-speaking mentors. Additionally, knowing what benefits are and are not being utilized will help the Hub staff evaluate parts of the program which need additional development.
While this will allow the Hub to understand its target Stanford population, the Hub will also evaluate its larger potential population. It will research other large employers in the area and assess which ones have a large population of underserved employees who are not adequately utilizing available resources. The Hub will establish relationships with the HR departments of these employers so that the creation of a similar program to the Hub at Stanford will be natural and feasible. Also, the Hub will communicate with non-profit staffing agencies, especially for sharing information on current market trends. Analyzing the needs and makeup of clients of non-profit staffing agencies will give additional insight into the status of the Hub's target population.