Photo: Woman in workforce smiling at office coworkers.

Introducing the ECM Workforce Development Module

Posted in: Blog
By: Josie Alleman

Whether your organization’s entire mission is workforce development, or only one program your organization offers, finding the right data collection method can be a challenge. Exponent Case Management (ECM) now includes a Workforce Development Module designed to meet your specific needs. The Workforce Development Module is a well-researched, pre-configured version of ECM that supports every stage of your employment program.

During day-to-day operations, case managers, job developers, and course instructors need a system to support their many data tracking needs. Your case managers have to juggle important tasks: multiple reporting mandates, ongoing employer engagement, employment verifications, and more. They work hard to help job seekers gain needed credentials, remove employment barriers, and find the best qualified workforce for participating employers. Using a data system like ECM that can manage all aspects of your workforce development programming is a game changer.

What is the Workforce Development Module?

The Workforce Development Module is a pre-configured ECM template that ensures your programs are implemented using sector-wide standards. Common reports for operational efficiency and funder requirements—such as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) performance measures—are included with the module. The module benefits staff at every level of the organization from career coaches and business developers to program managers and executives. The module includes the following:

Job Coaching and Case Management

The Workforce Development Module supports every aspect—from program intake to becoming job search ready. Job coaches understand the participant’s journey to ensure the right services are being provided at the right time. The module provides a complete WIOA-friendly intake including basic demographics, employment history, education history, job interests, skills, credentials, employment barriers, and income assessment.

Pre-configured service plans are available to address all the employment barriers identified in the needs assessment. Individual and group service entries are captured to not only document each service and class, but also record case notes, billing information, and credentials attained. Additional assessments are included to ensure job readiness addressing both soft and technical skills.

Job Placement and Retention

The Workforce Development Module allows your program to collect job orders, search for job matches, and record placement and retention data with minimal system administrator set-up. We know that different funders have different definitions of successful placement milestones, so the module includes ECM’s flexible placement milestone functionality. Users can choose the milestone definition per placement and ECM does the rest – scheduling future retention checks. Additionally, the module provides comprehensive retention check data collection including wage verification, advancement information, and job satisfaction.

Employer Engagement

Strong employment programs not only focus on removing barriers to employment for individuals, but also on being a partner with the local business community. Building lasting relationships with employers is crucial to ensuring your program participant success. Your organization needs the ability to easily track referrals and ensure participants are qualified and properly matched with required skills and credentials. You can manage employer leads and partnerships with ECM’s Workforce Development Module to seamlessly integrate participant services with employer services. The template provides key employer information including industry codes, employer engagement scales, and basic relationship management fields so that your job development staff can ramp up quickly.

Dashboards and Reports

In addition to data entry, the module provides several out of the box dashboards and reports helping organizations with funder requirements, such as WIOA performance measures, as well as day to day operations. Dashboards for program managers, job developers, and job coaches are included, focusing on upcoming tasks, employer engagement levels, and placement and retention rates. Individual participant reports are available as well including assessment scores over time for job search readiness, work readiness, aptitude scores, and more.

Image: Laptop displaying dashboard charts listing average days from job order to hire and referrals.

See the Workforce Development Module in Action

Watch a pre-recorded webinar on demand to explore:

  • Relevant features and capabilities of ECM’s Workforce Development Module
  • How ECM’s Workforce Development Module can inspire programmatic improvements
  • What to expect when moving your agency to ECM and using the Workforce Development Module

Interested in a general demonstration of ECM? We host a webinar every other week. Sign-up for the general ECM demo today!