LEADERSHIP TEAM MEETING NOTES – August 21, 2014

In Attendance: Lewis Boren, Sue Bailey, Linda Angel, Susan Kamas, Vivian Naramore, Jerry Haisler, Vickie Gideon, Ben Lopez, Kimberly Patterson, Horace Dicks, Debbie Gommert, Terry Gearhart, Gerry Fluharty, Lewis Boren and Roy Highsmith.

Workforce Update:

Annual Awards: Debbie needs additional nominations.

Silos: Jerry talked about the last meeting comments section, a comment that we are “creating too many silos”, and wondered what was meant by it. He discussed our code of conduct and his experiences in addressing conflicts or issues in WFSCT in the last couple of years. He reminded the LT that we have to be leaders and mindful of the code when we interact with our peers and others. He asked the LT to re-commit to this.

ED Meeting Handout: Susan provided handout from the recent ED meeting in San Antonio.

TAWB Sunset Update, page 7 of the handout: No major problems with TWC. They looked at oversight, monitoring, TAP, and are interested in more comprehensive oversight. Look for a push toward more services to disabled customers. Is DARS active with us? More coming on disabilities and how to implement services. Staff probably needs training in accommodations related to the disabled.

USDOL Reviews in Texas: we were not visited. They found various problems in the areas visited. Some costs were not reasonable. Food costs are generally prohibited and when allowed must be properly documented. Property management (inventory) was not complete in some cases. Policies were either not being followed and/or were not clear and concise.

WD Letter 24-14, ITA’s: The LT briefly discussed the ramifications and we need further review. ACTION: A meeting will be set with WF Admin to review.

Texas Rising Star: performance standards. See page 5 in handout for the timelines.

Uniform Grant Guidance, see Power Point pages 19-32: We need super circular training. TWC or DOL should do the training.

TWC Initiatives, page 33:

High Demand Grant approved in the amount of $1M or $75k for a board share.

Teacher externships authorized in the amount of $.5M statewide to support externships for middle and high school teachers.

Infant/Toddler Childcare Capacity Building: $1.5M.

Military/BRAC grant: $1M with ours being $130k.

Youth Career Fairs: $1M statewide with $25k to us. LT briefly discussed the use of this.

EDC Workshops (see workshop chart): WIT team has completed their mission.

Employer scams: have been addressed with signs up in all our areas warning customers.

Hiring Red, White, and You: next one is on Nov 13, 2014 at the Marriott in Killeen (old Plaza Hotel) . Kim and a team working on this.

WIT Job Matching Discussion Paper, pages 40-44: Long-term unemployed workgroup. Discussed long-term unemployed versus chronically unemployed

Employment First Task Force, pages 45-46: LT briefly discussed.

TWIC Strategic Plan Development, page 47: Info sheet from TWIC; aggressive timeline. Input from local boards is at page 51. We will select 3 to comment on.

WIOA, page 53-58: timeline for implementation. Federal workgroup includes Debbie Carlson; DOL wants to model after Texas (hopefully!). Regulations will be published quickly with a draft by September and Texas will be an early implementation state. Texas is also grandfathered for board composition. DOL is looking at a national identity for us.

EDC Comments Concerning Veteran’s Services, page 59: Susan gave real life samples to EDC. Are vets really being served? She brought up questions about vet services to include the role of the LVERS at Red White And You or other job fairs not being allowed to talk to vets, just to employers. Linda brought up the fact that the Ft Hood NEG has lower numbers but more are coming out soon and the funds are here this time around. TWC is open to including those experiencing reduction-in-force in the enlisted ranks.. Linda has requested this in writing to TWC.

Ron Painter Comments: elevate the quality of workforce board members. Susan’s comment, ours are good. ACTION: She stated that staff coming to board meetings must be quiet and refrain from sidebar discussions during the meeting.

Library Discussion, pages 62- 66: Partner with libraries? The LT recalled past efforts with libraries, noting time restrictions on the computers and other issues.

Survey of Employer Employee Results (SEE: pages 25-39, handbook): Linda discussed the results. Again pay is the lowest area. TWC was lower compared to all boards. CENTEX had 86 surveys, 82 responded. Again we are higher than any area across the board. Chart on page 31 shows the comparison for 3 years. We show some slippage but not serious. We are relatively stable. We must continue giving staff the opportunity to present ideas, especially on improvement of customer service. Susan’s comment: Our emphasis should be on quality customer service and leadership opportunities with the new WIOA. The LT discussed the slippage since 2009 and how to address this. All need to touch on working together, customer service, staff interactions. Was there a common theme for the constructs? 09 and 12 were high dollar years, not so now. Jerry commented that staff salary adjustments are coming (2% or $50) effective September 1, 2014. ACTION: All staff meeting set for Tuesday, September 23 in KWFC.

WCCT: staff training is going well. Implementation has been smooth with only a few glitches.

Skills Development Fund, pages 18 and 21-22: Grants to colleges for veterans, about $2k for each participant. College plans are due Friday to TWC. Maximum grant amount is $240K. Temple College is asking for about $35K. CTC has not responded yet. NOTE: they did submit and asked for $240!. Details are on page 18.

Annual Awards Luncheon: Annual Awards Luncheon:

Lewis reported that the theme is “Almost Saturday Night Live” and it involves lots of staff. Audio-Visual will be done by KISD; 5 students will have this as their assignment, coursework, and grade for all of September and October. Instructors will be actively involved. We will get the full benefit of all of KISD’s resources for A/V. Our production should be better than ever due to this focused attention. Susan: Meal will be a buffet.

Workshop Improvement Team: Lewis reported that 8 core workshops have been identified. Team will study the best parts of the 4 we have now and brainstorm the 4 new ones. How do we market them? Team is halfway through the process and will meet the end of year deadline for recommendations. Current subjects include resumes, navigation of WIT, interview, and correct employment applications. New ones are social media, soft skills, employer panels, and “jail doesn’t mean no (sic) job” (many customers have background issues). Also may include soft skills. To speed up the process the Team will begin meeting twice per month.

Gerry raised the question as to whether LT knew we have a large number of customers that have criminal backgrounds (as reported in this Team work). The answer was yes. After RIO not being funded, these all became general population in the Career Centers. We regularly hear from employers that they have trouble hiring due to criminal background i.e. many drug related and can’t past a screening. We have experienced this in some of our vocational training programs. We don’t have a % but anecdotally know we see many where this is a barrier in their job search. Staff is knowledgeable and give counsel on how to address this issue in job search and resumes.

Staff Training Options, pages 10-11: Debbie reported that 46 staff responded to the survey. See results page 10. These would be applied next year. Seven Habits scored highest but might be expensive through a private vendor. That depends on what kind of presentation you want. Others topics were are questionable as to their relationship to work e.g. memory courses, although the LT acknowledged we all probably need help! Also, can we go with webinars that are less costly but related to the topics in the survey? ACTION: Debbie will explore Seven Habits to see availability of different curriculum, cost, etc.

Customer Feedback Improvement Team: Vickie noted the team should include Wendy, Tom, and one rural staff. ACTION: Linda to prepare a charter for this team and place on September LT agenda.

Strengths 2, page 17: Staff likes the strengths and the material but are mixed about the presentation. ACTION: Debbie to get more info from Krista on staff evaluations of the training. LT noted busy fall schedule and will probably defer to January or early 2015. NOTE: Lewis did an informal survey with staff and shared this info with LT. Responses were generally positive but some concerns were noted.

Ft Hood NEG/OJT Grants: so far one OJT in Killeen and possibly one in Rockdale. Linda reported good outreach in OJT grant and noted some being eligible also for the NEG. Those should be brought into that one as well since it needs enrollments. Let staff know this and place focus on NEG. Tom sent out a “115 report” showing lay-offs. Can we use this to look for NEG eligible people? Wendy is using the report and sharing with Kara as well. We need to look at outreached UI claimants too and inform others in lay-off orientations (rapid response?). Scott and Frank are trying to job develop OJT’s based on customer interest. Jerry stated we should insure staff are aware of the two grants and make appropriate referrals. We also have a new Job Training NEG, pages 53-54. All these grants and WIA are focusing on dislocated

believes we need a desk aid for staff outlining all the funds and programs we have for training grants. ACTION: Linda develop a desk aide that notes all the grants, eligible population, screening criteria, and start and end dates.

Performance pages 56-70: Staff-guided is up but we won’t meet by the end of this year. We need 24 more supplemental wages by September 5 but are unlikely to find. TAP is being reviewed monthly. Centers are trying to provide another service. We are #2 in WIA. We could be #2 in literacy/numeracy. Ten week claimant looks good and under control. Workforce Assistance will be OK. We are on track for child care and should come off the TAP in a couple of months. Ben reported that CHOICES is strong and is 10% over the target, top 5, and #1 in federal entered employment. NCP is going well; 31 open customers, $600 away from $150k collections. Enrollments have slowed a bit but Office of Attorney General, Court Judge Nelson and County Judge Burrows are happy with NCP results and performance.

Social Media Policy/Facebook, see Facebook handout and page 50: addresses our Facebook account issues and guidelines. Wendy reviews daily to catch inappropriate postings. None of this is yet codified and it needs to be developed into a social media policy. Roy indicated that he had started a draft social media policy based on a review of several, mainly corporate policies from the Internet. He indicated that this can be a part of an overall policy as use of appropriate social media goes beyond our Facebook account. LT discussed issues involved in the use of Facebook, page 50, and work-related versus personal social media accounts. Jerry indicated that governmental focus or needs may be different than commercial. ACTION: Terry and Roy to develop a draft policy for the next LT meeting. It should be as simple and direct as possible. Jerry suggested getting policies from other WF areas e.g. Gulf Coast or Upper Rio and TWC. After we approve policy, we should do orientation and training on appropriate use as well as best practices.

Next LT Meeting: September 18, Temple

Meeting Evaluation:

What was good?

Good meeting

We needed the reprimand from Jerry.

Good meeting; Lots of stuff.

Great info, updates, and food

What Could We Improve?

I didn’t comment at the time but concerning the “code of conduct” discussion…I was recalling how well received the LT meeting we had in Salado years ago when we drafted the current code of conduct. It might be a good time to consider another off-site team building event for the LT.

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