Outreach and Education

December 21 Meeting Minutes

 

The December 21^st VSM meeting started off with introductions.  Michaela introduced Helen Wieczorek. Helen is our new facilitator.  She was very good about keeping us on task and making suggestions when she felt we needed them.  She is a great addition to the group.  A few other new additions to the group equally as great are: Leslie Manning from BLS, Brenda Evans from Admin., Ken Bridges from LMIS, and Mary LaFontaine from the Lewiston and Wilton CareerCenters. All have added a new dimension and exciting new feel to our group.  Welcome everyone.

 

The first challenge this group faced at this meeting was to define Outreach and Education.  The group came up with the following definition for O & E: 

 

Communicate and promote, internally and externally, the Maine Department of Labor's

programs, products, and services in a consistent manner.

 

= = = = = = = = = =

 

Some of the discussions that followed were:

What does the department provide job seekers:

Counseling/Consulting - Resume & Career decision making

Workshops

Training                                                     (employed networking group)

        Testing     

           

Businesses

        Job marketing

        Recruitment                                                        (Partners to CareerCenter, DHS,

        Labor Market Information                                     SBA, and Women Work  in Comm)

        Seminars/Training

 

Information Centers

        Free access to internet                                 (One stop shopping for

        Phones/Fax                                                   employment)

        Jobs Info/Career Info

           

 

At the end of the discussions the group identified the following list:

        Consistency

        DOL Services - Programs and Services

        Customers (internal and external)

        Communicating

        Promote

        Market

        (business vs employers -- private employers)

        Education

       

Communicate and promote the Department's programs, products, and services in a consistent manner.

 

 

 

 

*****

Wish List item:  There ought to be a way to find out and respond to customer needs and future needs.  - Needs assessments -- surveys -- needed?

 

*****

 

We went on with our discussion and identified the following.

 

- That MDOL be seen in a more positive way.

- Message in all training should be consistent.

- Need a positive message.

- Itemize all programs and services.

- Consistent marketing of materials.

        For example:  CareerCenters

        - There could be one brochure that covers things all career centers do - with a separate

           insert for the brochure identifying the differences of each individual career center.

        -  Brand identification.

 

 

Next we went on to discuss surveying senior management.

 

Questions would be:

 

1)  What programs, products, and services do you provide?

 

2)  How do you promote/market them?

 

These questions should be presented to and answered by the following groups:

       

        BLS, BES, LMIS, Communication office, UI (& Administrative Hearings),

Rehab Services, and OIP.

Each team member should answer the same questions about their own areas and be ready to discuss it at the next meeting.

 

Keep these dates in mind - Feb 3^rd and March 17^th - there will be an all VSM teams meeting in the morning on each of those days.  The exact times and location are not yet known.

The Plan

 Leslie Manning will present the questions at the senior management staff meeting on December 28^th. She will give them a due date of January 9^th, 2005.

 

Committee members will research their own areas and have the information by January 10^th.

 

It was decided that future meetings will be held the second and last Monday of the month from 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM. 

The next meeting will be held on January 10^th at the Augusta CareerCenter.  Ken Bridges will arrange for us to take a tour of the CareerCenter from 1 to 1:30 to learn what the career center has to offer its' customers.

 

Mary LaFontaine will be joining us via conference call on the 10^th from the Wilton CareerCenter.

 

The next meeting will include:

 

1)  Tour of Augusta CareerCenter.

 

2)  Study the data we have gathered.

 

3)  Determine the next steps to take.

 

4)  Spend some time at the end of the meeting for planning booth strategy for the next VSM fair.

 

5)  Close the meeting with what we are proud of in the VSM process and what we are sorry

      about.