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The funding model may be output related and may include differential payments dependent upon claimant group.  It may include the use of benefit savings in the risk/reward model.

We are expert at accommodating individuals of all circumstances and capabilities and finding the best possible employment opportunity for each.  We have championed the performance payment system which pays on employment and retention outputs, and have applied this across the capability spectrum.  Our work in New York City (combined with the other employment placement vendors here) has resulted in more than a 60% reduction in NYC benefit claimants over a fifteen year period, resulting in enormous savings to the government and exceeding by many times the total employment service delivery cost.

Organizations may be required to provide some services within part of an area within a Lot.

 

We currently provide services within certain sub-areas of our overall contracted geographical jurisdictions, as we do with certain sub-groups within these areas.

Britain at Work - - Our Philosophy and Experience

A “Work-First” Business Orientation  

Britain At Work’s affiliate America Works (AW) has championed the same philosophy as the UK’s Work Programme, - - namely a focus on achieving  immediate employment in the private economy as compared with traditional endless work preparation schemes which can delay entry into the labor market, thereby losing out on opportunities for income and promotions through work.   From its inception in the late 1970’s as an organization founded to conduct a government experiment to test the effectiveness of subsidized employment, AW has proven through both scientific experimentation and thirty years’ business experience that “Work First” achieves the best results for the participant, the taxpayer and society.       

 

Our Work First orientation permeates the organization and its philosophy is evident in all of our business practices.  For example, as distinct from some social welfare agencies, we believe everyone can work in some capacity, and that our job is to find the best fit in the private labor market for people of all abilities.  We do not seek to merely identify “barriers” that result in individuals remaining outside the labor market until they are “cured”.   Our experience is that only through actual attempts to work can any true reasons for non-work be identified and resolved.

 

 

 

The Most Experience in Performance Contracts Anywhere   

 

AW has operated continuously since the 1980’s under performance contracts for placement and retention in employment.   No company in America or Europe has as long an experience earning its program income exclusively from results.  Since the 1980’s AW has grown and thrived as a result of its success placing individuals into jobs and helping them succeed, whereas many other for-profit and non-profit organizations with comparable contracts have retreated from the performance business environment.

 

Our commitment to earning income for our services only upon achieving success for our customer is a philosophy we have continually championed over the years.    We have testified before the US Congress, informed government contracting officials, and publicized results.  Recently we created the Work First Foundation in order to study and disseminate to policy officials and the public the benefits of performance contracting. 

 

 

An Entrepreneurial Company achieving results in the Social Welfare sector.

 

We are a lean organization which dedicates most of its internal resources to finding superb employment counselors and rewarding them generously for achieving the social welfare results demanded by government.    We specialize in understanding the objectives of our government customers and aligning our business interests and those of our employees with the social welfare outcomes demanded by our government customers. 

 

An important asset we bring to our government customers is that we do not work exclusively for government.  We provide staffing services directly to business customers as part of our operation.  This is one way we gauge our value to the government sector, while allowing us to remain very close to the changing business sector.  It is notable that there are almost no examples of companies which have been successful simultaneously contracting with both government and the business sector.

 

 

Professionalism within our office and outside

 

The professionalism and high performance of our staff is reflected in the courtesy and respect we show our participants seeking employment.  Our offices are in well designed class A office space, and our staff dresses to indicate business standards.

 

Our belief in people is also communicated to our participants through our assumption that everyone can work.  The corollary to this expectation is that both we and participants have obligations to each other.  On the one side, we must provide excellent service to our participants from our staff, and on the other we expect and require that our participants keep their obligations.  Where participants do not meet their government mandated obligations so as to retain their eligibility for benefits, we believe that suspension of such benefits until compliance is achieved can be a helpful teaching tool, and may not need to be used very often.

itain At Work is a company which brings together some of the best UK and US partners in support of the government’s exceptional new Work Programme.  We are affiliated with America Works (www.americaworks.com) and other partners, and are pleased to have hosted many delegations of UK and other foreign visitors over the years, including many from DWP.  Our long term of continued experience in the employment field, and our long-term support for performance based contracts can be expected to be of great value to the new programme, as is indicated by the following:

·        Over 175,000 individuals placed in jobs over more than 25 years.

·        #1 rated job placement and retention provider in New York City (details follow below)

·        First-mover of government performance based contracting for employment anywhere, and continued leader in the promoting its value and effectiveness to the policy community.

 

We have highlighted below the proposed delivery approach outlined in the Framework Agreement, and our experience and effectiveness under these requirements:

 

Organizations will be encouraged to provide innovative/black box solutions for all services that they are invited to deliver under this framework.

We love to operate within a black box environment which encourages innovation!  In the application for tender we will describe some of our innovative approaches which have proven successful.  But the best measure of our success is always results.  Below is a compilation of results as measured by our largest customer, New York City’s Human Resources Administration.  HRA compares all eight prime vendors on many measures which are published on its website.  From among the prime vendors under contract by HRA here is how we compare:

 

[Published compilation of all eight vendors in the three year contract period ending July 2009]

1. Welfare applicants placed into employment within 45 days of their request for benefits:  Rank 1
   
2. Overall percentage placed into employment (includes both applicants and recipients of benefits):  Rank 1
3.  Retained in employment after 30 days:  Rank 1
4. Retained in employment after 90 days:  Rank 2
5. Retained in employment after 180 days:  Rank 2
6. Lowest percentage who returned to benefits after 9 months:  Rank 2
7. Proportion of those referred who actually participate in the program:  Rank 1
8. Lowest percentage of participants who failed to comply with program requirements:  Rank 1.

Ability and capacity to manage large and diverse supply chain.

In order to be successful we work either as partners or as prime contractors with a multitude of subsidiary organizations who provide specialty services.  Below are some examples:

1. Over 1000 referrals per year of individuals with developmental disabilities to a non-profit training specialist for this group.
2. We have specialty sub-contracts with both for-profit and non-profit organizations for training in retail, food service, housing, personal care, and security to name a few.

Ability to support all claimant groups who are or may be capable of working.

Our policy is to help individuals from all groups including the disabled, veterans, offenders returning from prison, substance abusers and others to find the best available job for them, consistent with their capabilities.  Here are some examples:

1. We place individuals referred from New York City’s disability assessment and treatment process into private employment.  In many instances we receive and place disabled individuals who want to work directly rather than through the usual referral process.  
2. We work for the federal labor department to place veterans into employment in New York and Washington D.C.
3. We place offenders returning from prison in many locations including Newark NJ; Baltimore Maryland; Oakland California; Albany NY; Philadelphia PA; and High Point North Carolina.
4. We place individuals with higher skills into specialty jobs with generous wages, such as refinery workers in California who start at $22 per hour.
5. We place individuals into employment, mostly men, who are referred through the court system because they are unable to pay their child support obligations.

 

 Operating where volumes will not be guaranteed.

None of our current contracts guarantee volumes, however we have developed systems to compensate for swings and variations in referral rates from the New York City welfare department.  For example, in the early stages of our contract we were significantly under the anticipated volume.  In response we obtained cooperation with our contracted customer, the New York City welfare department.  To increase volume and smooth out variation we looked for new places to recruit directly, with cooperation from the New York City welfare department (HRA), rather than rely exclusively on welfare department referrals. 

 

Here are some examples:

1. We obtained permission to recruit directly from among those where were at welfare offices during their application period;
2. We recruit directly from homeless shelters;
3. We recruit from among those who had lost benefits and were at home not participating at all (the sanctioned); 
4. We were granted permission for a fixed short period to help those who had languished for an extended period in training programs without employment success.

As a result, in year one of our New York City contract we received only 87% of our expected volume, but by the third year, through the efforts described above, we assisted 127% or our expected participant volume. 

 

 

Organizations must be willing and able to take on greater capital and supplier management risk.

 

We have access to substantial capital through ongoing business investment relationships, as well as experience partnering with a large UK business.  In 1996-97 we entered into a partnership with the UK’s Capita Group to provide employment services for lone parents (contract was won but later canceled by incoming government).  We are currently raising substantial sums and reviewing partnership options in anticipation of the Work Programme tender.