Disability Employment Australia Leaders’ Forum

Brisbane, April 18th 2013

The NDRC in2013

Working together to generate demand

Key (enduring) objective: to increase the participation of people with disability in the Australian workforce.

WorkFocus Australia has held contract since 2010.

NDRC program subject to review during 2012.

Following the review, NDRC contract and key KPIs radically change and WorkFocus Australia retains contract until June 30th 2015.

We move away from essentially acting as a specialist recruitment service to driving cultural change across the Australian business community.

We are currently in a period of transition – with customers, our model and staffing structures.

NDRC: introduction & brief history

Our achievements

▪ Firmly established as a ‘trusted advisor’ with many of our employer partners

▪ By 31.12.12, 30 MoUs nationally ▪ Over 1,500 placements ▪ A strong focus on ‘employer led’ services and

support▪ Innovative ‘positive discrimination’ measures▪ High level of support from DES that engaged with

the program

“Thanks so much for your time this morning - I think I saw a glimmer of hope spring up (cautiously :-)) in M's eyes. It has been a long road for him and I know how demoralised he has been feeling...”

“I would like to thank the NDRC Team for all their hard work to assist PWD”.

“It was a very good session. I passed all the info to our staff and encourage clients to explore positions with McDonalds. I started visiting places in our local area to test the waters and to check how open the managers are for cooperation. Thank you very much for good hints”.

Thank you!

“Just a quick email to say thank you for yesterdays ‘What it Takes’ info session at Preston Safeway. I found it very informative and took away a lot that will hopefully assist my job seekers gain employment with Woolworths”.

“I just to tell that i get that Job i will sign contract shortly thanks for every thing you have done for meGod bless you”

Thank you!

“I would like to let you know that having the ANZ Hot List tips form, for resumes was extremely helpful and it assisted greatly with getting P’s resume up to scratch. It doubled as a time saving tool also, as it saved time on thinking how to write descriptive words. Thanks again for this very helpful piece of information”.

“Thank you so much for your invaluable advice regarding our client and a possible Masters application. As discussed, please send me the Resume template. This should be very useful in our efforts to prepare him prior to referral”.

Thank you!

NDRC review – what we said

▪ NDRC an essential part of a broader strategic approach

▪ Stability of provider essential

▪ Employers support ‘conduit’ function

▪ Any proposed changes to model should better connect funding arrangements to the actual business model and have capacity to grow as learnings about the service and its stakeholders’ needs grow

▪ NDRC well placed to identify and promulgate good practice across both DES providers and employers

▪ NDRC well placed to lead or contribute to capacity building with DES providers so that a consistent understanding of job creation, customisation and supportive strategies are in place – and this work is recognised in KPIs and funding arrangements

“We support the objectives of the NDRC; however, we believe they can be furthered by revitalising the program”.

• Continue consultation. DES providers are overwhelmingly not happy with the ‘complex double handling.’ The front-line administration burden appears to prevent referrals to NDRC vacancies. Employment services peaks and large employers need to brainstorm.

• Ensure its relevance. The program should be equally relevant to providers and to employers. It should not duplicate employer-sponsored initiatives, or DES program services. It should meet the aspirations of people with injury, ill health or disability.

• Revitalise the NDRC. The program appears anachronistic and irrelevant to the majority of DES providers. Rebrand the program. Allow scope for innovation funding.

Disability Employment Australia, December 2011

NDRC review – what you said

• Large companies are generally ‘on board’ with employing people with disability at a high level

• Significant challenges in turning that goodwill into actual opportunities

• Low awareness of available assistance – seen as complex and hard to navigate

• Wage subsidies are helpful, but the right person in the right job is the priority

• The importance of promoting success • Strong support for conduit function fulfilled by NDRC (a point of

contact) • Introduction of a ‘field officer’ role within companies ideal • Strong professional support from DES helps

build confidence

What have employers told us?

• Is the message filtering down the line?• Keeping employers engaged – securing enough ‘buy in’ • Building relationships with DES• How much flexibility are employers really willing and able to offer?• Many employers are risk averse and time and resource poor • Quality job matches – key to success• Recruiters and hiring managers need ‘permission’ to try different

approaches • Creating positive employer experiences will go a long way

NDRC observations & challenges

▪ Despite our numerous shared successes, key service features (that employers found most valuable) presented as an ongoing source of tension between the NDRC & DES providers;▪ Conduit role▪ Recruitment work

Key features of NDRC 2010–12

• Program objectives UNCHANGED• Additional educational and promotional

services to be delivered – Employer Seminars, 12 month disability employment ‘boot camp’

• New KPIs – placements out, vacancies in • Opportunity for ‘flow through’ of employers• Payment structure significantly changed – new

funding mix reflects the shift in focus

New NDRC contract – features

OLD• 5 MoUs per year, up to a maximum

of 11 • 1,000 placements• Vacancies• Employer & DES satisfaction• Improvements in the quality of

participation in employment by people with disability

NEW• 10 MoUs per year • 25 Letters of Affiliation per year• Employer progress towards building

disability confidence• 300 ‘Disability Job Vacancies’ per year• 3 Employer Seminars • 70 employers to attend Employer Seminars• Stakeholder satisfaction• Improvements in the quality of

participation in employment by people with disability

New NDRC contract – KPIs

OLD • 54% Brokerage,

promotion, advice & referral fee

• 27% Placements • 19% MoUs

NEW• 52% Employer Support

Services• 16% Job Vacancies• 15% Best Practice

Development• 9% Employer Seminars• 8% Promotional activities

New NDRC contract – payment points

The NDRC will lead the way in supporting sustained culture change across the Australian business community about disability and employment.

We will partner with employers and Disability Employment Services to educate and create disability-ready and disability-confident organisations and deliver a range of innovative, well-targeted, consistent, reliable and efficient services.

NDRC from 2013: What we want to achieve

Employers’ response to NDRC changes?

• The evolution of the service sharpens the NDRC’s focus on working with employers to create ‘disability-ready’ and ‘disability-confident’ workplaces.

• The new focus is on embedding practices into companies that will be self-sustaining in the long-term, but encouraged, nurtured and showcased along the way by the NDRC.

• The NDRC will now have less focus on a pre-screening role for individual candidates on an ongoing basis, although this may form part of our approach when first working with employers on building disability confidence.

• We will also support building DES’ capacity to better meet employer needs, so that the process of engaging with DES is more streamlined and efficient for employers in future.

Key messages to employers about the new contract?

Strategic areas of focus in the coming year?

1. Growing demand2. Building capacity3. Working on supply4. Creating opportunities

• Supporting existing employers through transition • Finalising new service offering to employers• Developing new NDRC website• Reviewing resources, revising, refreshing• Revised MoU, draft Letter of Affiliation • Identifying new employer partners • Internal structure review to support change of focus • Employer led seminars to engage with DES at the

local level• Planning inaugural Employer Seminar

What are we working on right now?

So what does the transition mean for DES?

• Not necessarily back to business as usual• Employers will have a say about their future

‘rules of engagement’• Woolworths Ltd – watch this space

• Increased opportunities for us to explore how we might work together to grow demand

• Opportunity for you to shine

• Make sure you’re signed up for updates;jobs.ndrc@workfocus.com

• Let’s keep talking!