ISPI TrendSpotters talks with Margo Murray about her Operating Concept Model for Facilitated Mentoring. In this article margo describes the utility of a facilitated mentoring process as leverage for investment in people development. It features the application of mentoring for positive societal impact in two unusual environments: 1) with developing leaders in the field of reproductive health, and 2) Helping the automotive industry to increase the pool of qualified service technicians by providing mentors for high school students.

WELFARE TO WORK: How a mentor can support the difficult transition
By Launa Craig

A job, childcare facilities, and transportation have been found for a former welfare recipient. The welfare to work process has succeeded. All the hard work is done. Right? Wrong!. The difficult part has just begun.

I was part of a team contracted to facilitate planning for the 90-Day Welfare Reform Project for the County of Alameda (California). The team, Associates of MMHA The Managers’ Mentors, Inc., was led by Margo Murray, President & Chief Operating Officer of MMHA.

Federal and State welfare reform and the time limits attached to public assistance by the legislation posed a particular challenge to Alameda County given its sizable Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF) population. To move in front of these changes, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors commissioned a 90-day project to jump-start the County’s Welfare Reform Design. The purpose of the project was to:

• Achieve measurable outcomes in job commitments by industry and government in the County
• Build on partnerships between public and private sectors
• Align fragmented efforts of various agencies and community based services

A Leadership Team was convened in June of 1997, to provide guidance and support during the 90-day project. From resources identified by the Leadership Team, three project teams were formed to tackle specific deliverables in the areas of job and economic development, childcare, and transportation. A total of 356 people participated on the three teams.

It was clear to me that finding a job, childcare and transportation for all welfare recipients was going to be a difficult and complex task.

Project Outcomes

Our local newspaper carried a 5-part series that explained what an arduous task was in front of Alameda County. One of the editorials written during that series made several points that I strongly agree with. “First, we must see reform as a long-term process. It took us 60 years to get here, it may take 10 or more to get where we want to be. ..Second, we need to better understand what it takes, not to just get off welfare, but to stay off.... The key is whether that same person is still holding any job anywhere five years from now”

At the conclusion of the project each team reported the details of its initiatives, accomplishments, and recommendations. More was accomplished than the press and public opinion had expected.

Businesses agreed to hire 750 TANF job seekers, over 7000 child care slots were located and a transportation planning tool, TranStar was installed in sites convenient to the population.

New Challenges

The project pointed out that support systems must be in place to ensure newly employed people will keep their jobs. The newly employed former welfare recipient may not have considered many of the challenges they may face, including time management, adjustments of household routines to support working, budgeting and appropriate work attire.

Making it to work five days in a row is a difficult hurdle for someone who has never held a job before. Having a backup plan for sick children that cannot go to childcare calls for planning skills and resources the new worker may not possess. All of the focus in the project to date had been on job-seeking skills. Our final report to the Board of Supervisors stressed that the focus on job-keeping skills is equally important.

A Mentor Can Help

Margo Murray, project leader, cited good reasons for providing a mentor to assist new hires from the welfare rolls to assess skills and plan training, “... in the United States and some other countries, changes in welfare reform laws are bringing people into the workforce who may have no family history of work. Many of those newly hired will have even less ability than current employees to accurately assess their skills relevant to job requirements, particularly beyond entry-level positions.”

One of the resources that will help the newly employed is a mentoring relationship. A caring mentor can assist the new hire in maneuvering successfully in the job environment and company culture. Most employers have programs to teach the job skills that are needed; but who is going to teach the unwritten rules of the work place?. If the intent of welfare reform is to help the poor become self-sustaining and not just off welfare, then a strong post-hire support system – mentoring – must be put into place.

Life skills can be taught in the classroom to a number of newly employed all at once. The student will learn the theory and will be excited and motivated about their new knowledge. Then reality sets in and life happens. They can’t seem to apply what they learned. They feel isolated and wonder what is wrong with them because they don’t fit in.

Sensitive subjects like grooming and timeliness are difficult to address in a formal classroom setting. Once trust has been established, a mentor can skillfully and tactfully address these sensitive subjects. Work ethics, self-esteem, and self-concept are other subjects that can be successfully handled in a one-on-one mentoring relationship.

A Mentor By Any Other Name

Many people have a negative view of those persons receiving welfare. Barbara Lee, a California State Senator and chair of the Sacramento welfare reform committee is a former welfare recipient. In an interview for The Oakland Tribune newspaper in 1997, she said that when other legislators demean welfare recipients, she reminds them they are talking about her.

Marsha Sinetar in her book The Mentor’s Spirit refers to mentors as guides, advisors and teachers and the process of mentoring as the art of encouragement. The transition from a life style that is based on a welfare check to one that is based on a paycheck that was personally earned is not an easy task. The newly employed face many dark days and may become discouraged. This work thing is tough!.

A mentor who can help an individual find courage to face life’s challenges is exactly what one needs to make a successful move from welfare to work.

Author
Launa Craig, Senior Associate, MMHA The Managers’ Mentors, Inc.

Click here to read this article in Español

For this issue, we chatted with Margo Murray of MMHA, The Managers’ Mentors Inc. in Oakland, California. Margo has spotted four trends:

Significant Trends

Advances in technology are significant, enabling organizations to run leaner and communicate faster. Savings in administrative costs have enabled much-needed downsizing in many companies. Those organizations that invest technology savings in their core businesses will reap the greatest rewards.

Competition for products, services, and people, especially in the U.S. is increasing. Even in this tight job market, competition for good people is intense. People with a track record of strong results are in great demand. Consequently, competition among workers is increasing. The hiring bonus is back, and severance packages are richer than ever. To stay competitive, organizations are compelled to view their employees as assets and act, rather than just talk, accordingly. During mergers and acquisitions, it will be imperative to perform cultural due diligence to ensure that the employees of both organizations can mesh.

Lack of trust in employers is on the rise. Many workers perceive their leadership as unethical or incompetent, or both. A quick look at the latest headlines about Enron or the California energy crisis raises this level of mistrust. Consequently, people are choosier about where they work. They want to join an organization with which they share basic values and where they can expect competent and ethical behavior from their management.

Workers want more of a voice in their job responsibilities, in where they work and when. We see an increase in teleworking, flexible working hours, job-sharing, and other non-traditional arrangements. For many, the answer is a home-based business or working remotely in order to better balance work and family. The bottom line: organizations must show tangible results to attract workers, investors, and consumers. The successful organization is one that stays close to the needs of its stakeholders.

Impact of These Trends

People want to work to their potential. They will seek venues where they have a greater voice in all aspects of their job, where their values align with their employer’s, and where they trust their senior management.

Influence of These Trends on Mentoring

With employees demanding more, guiding their professional growth and development is key. We can no longer treat people as a group in the workplace, nor can we afford the time to let people learn by trial and error what others already know. Enter mentoring—a highly focused, targeted approach to individual employee development that is effective and efficient. Mentoring puts learning into context with direct application on the job.

Article written by Roger Addison and Carol Haig.