Job Development in Rural Areas Allen Anderson Employment Management Professionals September 09, 2011

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 2 Challenge Limited jobs in rural communities Employers already have people in mind The rural community is closed to outsiders Rural job market can disappear forever Rural community can be more effected by poor economy – employers more circumspect

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 3 Solutions Understand how to do job development better Adjust JD sell to fit the rural community through relationship building Become the value added labor supplier

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 4 Agenda Review our job development constructs Strategic differences between rural and urban job development How to construct rural job development

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 5 Job Development Constructs If an employer resists hiring from a job developer it is generally because the candidate is not job ready.  True or False? The candidate’s employment barrier is the determining factor in whether they get a chance at being hired.  True or False?

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 6 Job Development Constructs All hiring and job development is based in perception of the candidate not the reality of the candidate. Key to job development is managing employer perception All hiring decisions are based in trusting that perception Perception management and building trust ensures job development success

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 7 Job Development Constructs Perception is managed with selling skills Trust is earned with JD sincerity, employer focus and action Employers initial reaction is to perceive JD as having a bad candidate and to distrust the job developer Need means to over come the negative or neutral first impression and build trust We do this with the right selling style

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 8 Selling Styles Charity selling – do it for your values Spiel selling – describing the candidate and services and hope the employer recognizes value Problem solving or consultative selling – finding the problem first and building the solution second

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 9 Consultative Selling Model & Objectives Prospecting – finding employers who are hiring and getting an appointment Needs Analysis – understanding the employers needs/problems and getting them to agree to look at a proposal Selling – presenting your solution and getting a buying decision Follow-up – deliver candidate and repeat business

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 10 Consultative Sell Key Skills Prospecting – opening line, what makes the employer let you in? Needs Analysis – probing, what value adding questions do you ask? Selling – presentation, what solutions do you offer? Follow-up – repeat business, what value added action gets new business?

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 11 Job Development Foundations Need Motivated, Reliable and Dependable (MRD) to truly be employable Failure to sell is the responsibility of the JD not a result of the candidate’s qualifications Job developers massage opportunities to fit their candidates not find candidates to fit their jobs

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 12 Relationships and Needs Relationships and needs commonly used terms but not concretely defined in JD Relationship – shared business objective/s Needs – a problem defined not a solution presented Clear definitions give action focus and success

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 13 Differences between Rural and Urban Rural and urban definitions Urban: is generally job first, relationship second – are you hiring, lots of jobs available, open to working with anyone, quicker style of placement Rural: is generally relationship first, job second – jobs are hidden, go to people they know, use existing connections, need to build the connection to get the job, slower but longer term opportunities

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 14 JD Advantages in Rural Your professionalism may not be readily available Less employee choice in rural, not as much pick of the litter You can offer choice Your services can make a bigger difference in rural than urban

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 15 Rural Job Market Job market is hidden Feels like there is no job market Employer rebuffs “are you hiring” approach Easy to be excluded and feel reinforced that what you have is not wanted Low management turnover permanent rejection

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 16 Rural Relationship Start a business relationship: Focus on getting to know the employer’s potential job needs not find a job Not a friendship, buddy building or shared good times – a connection to do business Show the employer you know their jobs and can act in their interest when the time arises Initial request dictates potential business relationship not the need for jobs Earn the right to present candidates

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 17 Rural: 4 Meetings to Sell Meeting 1: get the employer to agree to an appointment so you can meet and get to know them, limited program or candidates presentation Meeting 2: get the employer to talk about their employment needs, present and future, but focus on future, get to know their jobs much better Meeting 3: Outline to the employer the employment program you have built to respond to their needs and ask permission to sell a candidate to them in the future Meeting 4: respond to employer job offer or offer a potential candidate as the candidates emerge

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 18 Step 1: Prospecting, Opening Lines The 1 st meeting with the employer Build an opening line about building a relationship not about finding jobs Hi, my name is _____ and I represent, ______ is going to build an employment service involving people with ____ in this community to assist local employers to save money and get good employees, but we know to build an effective service we must first talk to local employers about what they might need and want in an employment service that will work for them. Would you be willing to give me some time to help me understand you future needs and help me build my employment service?

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 19 Step 1: Opening Lines Opening lines: Must create curiosity not sell Need non-job business reason to talk Focus on the employer not the JD needs Generalized potential business not actual business unless offered by the employer Create time investment

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 20 Step 2: Needs Analysis Probing The 2 nd meeting with the employer: Design questions to gather general employment info so you appear to and actually do learn about the employers needs: Tell me about the jobs you have? What makes them harder or easier to fill? What makes a good employee? What jobs do you have the most concern about? What jobs offer the most opportunity to you? What support makes hiring easier for you? Tour and learn the job

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 21 Step 3: Selling – Present an Option The second meeting: Outline your services as it relates to what you have learned about the employer, make your service, employer specific Earn the right to ask two questions:  If you have a job will you tell us?  If I have a candidate can I tell you?

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 22 Meeting #4 – A Job or Candidate You have earned the right to be part of the employers connections You are offered a job to fill, you then do a typical needs analysis with corresponding massaging You offer a candidate in case the employer is hiring then do typical needs analysis You can call on the employer now an endless amount of times – stay in touch

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 23 Construct Rural Job Development Overview: Consultative selling Relationship before selling Build opening lines and needs questions Earn the right by getting to know Present services only after getting to know the employer Ensure an ongoing contact process

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 24 Comments & Questions

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 25 Contact Information Allen Anderson Employment Management Professionals Inc. 130 Carlton Street, Suite 1510 Toronto Ontario M5A 4K Website:

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 26 THANK YOU!

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 27 Upcoming Webinars: Job Development Exchange Developing Sales Tools for Customizing Employment: The Portfolio and Visual resume (October 27) Preparing for Negotiations with Employers (November 7) Employer Networks: An Overview of Various Types of Employer Networks (December 8) Building Employer Networks (December 16)

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 28 Archived Webinars: Job Development Exchange An Overview of Employment Approaches and Strategies to Serve all Persons Introducing the Online Toolkit for Job Placement and Employment Professionals Distinguishing Employment Relationships: Competitive and Customized Employment Job Development in Rural Areas

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 29 TACE Talks Transition (TTT) Monthly concise information on best practices to transition counselors available for their own pace learning; – sign-up and start your subscription via the Transition -List

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 30 Education Credits CRCC Credit - (2.0) Approved by Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) By Monday Septemeber 20, 2011, participants must score 80% or better on a online Post Test and submit an online CRCC Request Form via the MyTACE Portal. My TACE Portal: TACEsoutheast.org/myportal **For CRCC credit, you must reside in the 8 U.S. Southeast states served by the TACE Region IV [AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN]. If beyond TACE Region IV, you may apply for CEU credit.

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 31 Southeast TACE (Region IV) Toll-free: (866) [voice/tty] Fax: (404) Web: TACEsoutheast.org My TACE Portal: TACEsoutheast.org/myportal

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 32 Disclaimer This presentation was developed by the TACE Center: Region IV ©2011 with funds from the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) under the priority of Technical Assistance and Continuing Education Projects (TACE) – Grant #H264A However, the contents of this presentation do not necessarily represent the policy of the RSA and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government [34 CFR (b)].

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute. Funded by RSA Grant # H264A © Employment Management Professionals Inc. 33 Copyright Information This work is the property of the Employment Management Professionals and may not be reproduced in any manner, whether in part or in whole, without written permission from Employment Management Professionals Inc. Reproduction without consent of any part of this Guide is in violation of copyright law. All rights reserved.