SECTION 503: Community of Practice Capacity Building & Sharing Operations Support Manager Ticket to Work program Pam Walker, CEO, Alliance Professional Services LLC May7, 2014

Learning Objectives How to develop and implement a successful 503 strategy by: 1.Determining the best outreach approaches for your organization. 2.Identifying Federal Contractors and designated contacts. 3.Reviewing the Federal Contractor’s business information. 4.Creating marketing materials and developing a marketing strategy. 5.Developing methods to match Federal Contractors’ open positions with qualified Ticket Holders. 6.Preparing Ticket Holders for Section 503 participation. 7.Establishing a solid job screening process. 8.Creating a standard process for making and tracking referrals. 2

Objective Number 1 Determine the best outreach approach for your organization:  What is your goal?  How many staff hours are available?  What is your budget?  Based on the goals, staff, and budget, what outreach approaches will work best?  Ideas 3

Objective Number 2 Identify Federal Contractors and designated contacts:  Finding the Federal Contractors who are the best fit for your organization will take time, patience, and some research.  Search for Federal Contractors who meet the requirements important to your organization.  Compare the number and types of jobs available to the typical skill set of the Ticket Holders served. 4

Objective Number 2 Resource 2.A The Federal Procurement Data System – Next Generation is a government website that provides Federal Procurement Reports. From this site you can obtain:  Federal Procurement Reports  List of the Top 100 Contractors by Fiscal Year  Small Business Contracting Report 5

Objective Number 2 Resource 2.B The General Services Administration provides a list of large prime contractors who have received:  Non-construction federal contracts valued at over $650,000.  Federal contracts for construction valued at over $1.5 million. 6

Objective Number 2 Resource 2.C Use the Federal System for Award Management to:  Perform a simple search to see if a company of interest is a federal contractor.  Use the advanced search option to locate federal contractors located within a city, state or zip code. 7

Objective Number 3 Review the Federal Contractors’ business information.  Select the Federal Contractors to be contacted.  Make the initial contact.  Provide information about services provided to both Ticket Holders and to employers.  Explain how the Federal Contractor could participate.  Describe the mutual benefit. 8

Objective Number 4 Create marketing materials and develop a marketing strategy:  Create a minute introduction that includes: A description of the Ticket to Work program A description of your organization Services provided and the value of the services Specific resources available Explanation of different ways Federal Contractors can partner with Ticket service providers. 9

Objective Number 4 (continued)  Use the Introduction developed to create additional marketing materials such as formal introductory letters, flyers or brochures.  Include the organization’s name, primary contact’s name, title, address, phone number and address on all marketing material.  Include marketing information for employers on your organization’s website.  Consider providing an employer interest web form. 10

Objective Number 4 (continued)  Obtain the name and contact information for the Affirmative Action Officer or Human Resources Director/Manager for employers of interest.  Provide marketing materials and take steps to schedule a date/time to meet in person or by phone.  Learn as much as you can about the business prior to the meeting.  Be prepared with information and topics for discussion.  If mutually interested, plan for follow-up. 11

Objective Number 5 Develop methods to match Federal Contractors’ open positions with qualified Ticket Holders:  Agree on a process for sending/receiving job openings.  Agree on a process for submitting candidates who may or may not choose to disclose a disability prior to hire.  Determine if and how you will post job opportunities.  Plan methods for recruiting Ticket Holders to fill open positions. 12

Objective Number 5 (continued) Develop methods to match Federal Contractors’ open positions with qualified Ticket Holders:  Website opportunities Announcements, interest forms, job postings  Marketing efforts Mailings, robo-calls, community bulletin boards  Resources for information sharing National Employment Network Association (NENA), blogs, groups, s, websites  Partnerships, both formal and informal 13

Objective Number 6 Prepare Ticket Holders for Section 503 participation:  Identify key areas of interest and skill sets.  Provide information about Section 503 and standard Section 503 forms employers use.  Discuss voluntary disclosure vs. nondisclosure.  Share the importance of work-related soft skills.  Prepare for interviews. 14

Objective Number 6 Resource 6.A Free sites for skills, abilities and interest assessments: Career One Stop Skill Profiler: O’net Resource Center: Getting Hired website: Assessment.aspx 15

Objective Number 6 Resource 6.B Additional interview preparation assistance: Free Job Question-Interview App for iPhones, iPads, and Android phones: 16

Objective Number 7 Establish a solid job screening process.  Develop good pre-screening processes.  Ask questions to find “hidden” issues that could disqualify a Ticket Holder for a specific position.  Request reference letters.  Use low-cost or free tools to confirm skills.  Refer only well-qualified, job-ready candidates to employers. 17

Objective Number 8 Create a standard process for making and tracking referrals and applicants:  Maintain an ongoing list to reflect: Each Ticket Holder and the applications submitted. The date and outcome of each application submitted. Date hired, if applicable. If not hired, feedback obtained from the potential employer. 18

 The opportunity to participate in recruitment and job placement for Federal Contractors is very exciting, but none of us have the capacity to fill every open position with a qualified Ticket Holder.  By developing tools, best practices, and processes that allow us to coordinate our efforts, we will be able to do a better job for Ticket Holders and the Federal Contractors that employ them. 19 Working Together

Additional Resources For additional information about participating in Section 503, visit: 20

Thank you! Pam Walker Alliance Professional Services LLC P.O. Box 550 Collierville, TN