Distinguishing Employment Relationships: Competitive and Customized Employment Examining the...

Distinguishing Employment Relationships: Competitive and

Customized Employment Examining the compatibility and distinctions

between two approaches that provide access to employment

Michael CallahanMarc Gold & Associates

Employment for AllAugust 11, 2011

TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © Marc Gold & Associates

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Competitive Employment

The term Competitive Employment has been used euphemistically in the disability field to indicate regular employment, in the community, at or above the minimum wage, and alongside co-workers who do not experience disability.


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Competitive Employment (cont.)

Individuals must compete against both the demands of employers for open jobs and the skills of other applicants.

However, the “competitive” aspect of competitive employment can create an absolute barrier to employment for some individuals with significant disabilities.


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Supported Employment

Essentially, SE provides post employment support to employees and employers who are felt to need additional support to achieve employment success.

In typical Rehab practice, supported employment is referred to competitive in that open demands of employers are being met.


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Supported Employment (cont.)

• Often focuses on open jobs

• Provides job coaches to assist both employees and employers

• Most funded supports occur post employment

• Pre-employment supports and services are not stipulated in statute


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Customized Employment

Essentially, CE provides a set of services prior to employment that are designed to tailor the employment relationship in ways that meet both job seeker and employer needs/benefits.

CE attempts to avoid the barriers created by job descriptions by unbundling demands through voluntary negotiations with employers.


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Unbundling demand

Employers have typically met needs by bundling demands into job descriptions.

Job seekers with significant disabilities often don’t have the “whole package” to offer.

Customized Employment allows employers to “unbundle” demand and to take advantage of discrete competencies.


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Employer Needs Analysis

Unmet Workplace Needs:This area focuses on tasks that need to get done but are not getting done in the way the employer would like. It also can include tasks that have not been performed but need to be.

Tasks better performed by others:This area focuses on aspects of jobs that might better be performed by others at a lower pay grade. This option can directly save money for employers.

Specific benefit to enhance business:This area focuses on workplace needs for additional productivity in specific tasks. It must be matched with job seeker’s specific competencies.


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Competitive: A Term of Confusion

Since the 1986 amendments to the Rehab Act, employment has been referred to as competitive. Competitive Employment in the disability field has referred to employment in the community, that belongs to the individual, for pay at or above minimum wages, alongside typical co-workers and often within open jobs available to any job seeker.


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Competitive: A Term of Confusion (cont.)

However, from an employer’s perspective, competitive employment is demand employment that implies that the employer has decided to post a job opening and that job seekers compete against each other as well as against the demands of the job description. This definition of competitive has created an absolute barrier for some job seekers.


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Competitive: An absolute barrier for some job seekers

Customized employment provides an avenue for job seekers with significant disabilities and complex lives to meet the VR definition of competitive without requiring the individual to perform competitively in regards to the demands of employers and the skills of other job seekers.


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The Employment Matrix

There are job seekers who will not need either SE or CE to become employed and to stay employed

There are job seekers who will need CE to become employed but will not need SE to stay employed

There are job seekers who will not need CE to become employed but who will need SE to stay employed

There are job seekers who will need both CE to become employed and SE to stay employed

Natural Supports and Reasonable

Accommodation only

Supported Employment and Natural Supports

Competitive/Demand Employment



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The Employment Matrix (cont.)

Typically Title I of VR services are delivered in

this quadrant

USDOL/ODEP and the Workforce System are

interested in this quadrant

Typically Title VI of VR Act services are

delivered in this quadrant

This quadrant is necessary for those

individuals not typically successful

using other strategies

Natural Supports and Reasonable

Accommodation only

Supported Employment and Natural Supports

Competitive/Demand Employment



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When to consider CE?

• When an individual does poorly on an evaluation

• When an individual has had numerous unsuccessful jobs

• When an individual consistently does not get hired by employers

• When an individual has a very complex life situation


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When to consider CE? (cont.)

• When an individual has had an open case for over a year

• When an individual has significant, multiple disabilities

• When an individual has very specific passions/interests

• When an individual is very different from your experience


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Consider employment services for Kim, a young woman on the cusp of adulthood?


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The demands of competitive supported employment job almost cost her a chance to work


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By using customized, supported employment, Kim worked for nearly 20 years


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Michael found a way around a negative evaluation

But he had long term employment using customized strategies

Michael was unemployable from a demand perspective


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Andrew was able to get a start on a meaningful career

A demand job might have led to a job in a cinema for Andrew

Customized employment led to a high paying sophisticated job

http://myti.mdrs.state.ms.us/myti/viewImage.cfm?image=3


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Value Added to all parties: The Customized Process

• Discovery• Capturing discovery through profiles• Customized employment planning • Portfolio/visual resume development• Job development representation

Here, CE dovetails with Supported Employment• Workplace analysis, accommodations, job site support


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Benefits of CE to job seekers

• Allows a way around the barrier of demand

• Avoids comparative evaluation by using discovery

• Allows individual/family to drive the job search rather than local demand

• Utilizes personal interests to provide the primary direction to employment

• Maximizes “best skills” in job expectations

• Minimizes the competitive aspect of employment


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Benefits of CE for VR

• Targets individuals who are “hardest to place” and who linger on case loads

• Provides a clear process for paying for pre-employment services

• Allows counselors to truly embrace “employment for all” perspectives

• Opens new doors for employer relations

• Creates a bridge to DD community


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Benefits of Customized Employment for Employers

• The discovery process reduces recruitment costs by getting to know job seeker’s “strengths, needs and interests

• The customized plan helps assure job seekers are connected with potential employers of their interest

• Employers can target specific areas of workplace need and know the tasks will get done


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Benefits of Customized Employment for Employers (2)

• The customized relationship is completely voluntary on the employer’s part

• Job seekers are encouraged to allow “positive disclosure” of the work impact of their complexity and challenges

• Pay can be negotiated from minimum/entry to that typically paid for similar jobs


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Benefits of Customized Employment for Employers (3)

• Applicable to all users of the workforce system and can be offered to an array of potential and current employees

• Includes on-going supports and other services, as needed

• Allows employers to meet goals of increasing diversity and hiring individuals with complexities in a way that benefits their business


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For additional information:

• One Stops – (http://onestops.info)

• ODEP – (http://www.dol.gov/odep/)

• Marc Gold and Associates – (http://marcgold.com/)

• Southeast TACE – (http://tacesoutheast.org)

http://onestops.info/

http://www.dol.gov/odep/

http://marcgold.com/

http://tacesoutheast.org/


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Comments & Questions


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Contact Information

Michael CallahanMarc Gold & Associates - Employment for All

4101 Gautier-Vancleave Rd. Ste. 102, Gautier, MS 39553 (228) 497-6999

Email: [email protected]


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THANK YOU!


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Job Development Exchange Webinar SeriesAn Overview of Employment Approaches and Strategies to Serve all Persons

(Archive available)

Introducing the Online Toolkit for Job Placement and Employment Professionals

(Archive available)

Distinguishing Employment Relationships: Competitive and Customized Employment

(August 11)

Job Development in Rural Areas (September 9)

Developing Sales Tools for Customizing Employment: The Portfolio and Visual resume (October – TBA)

Preparing for Negotiations with Employers (November – TBA)

Employer Networks: An Overview of Various Types of Employer Networks (December 8)

Employer Networks (December 16)

http://tacesoutheast.org/webinars/2011/071311/index.php







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TACE Talks Transition (TTT)

Monthly concise information on best practices to transition counselors available for their own pace learning; – sign-up and start your subscription via the Transition Email-Listhttp://tacesoutheast.org/network/transition/email_list.php

http://tacesoutheast.org/network/transition/email_list.php


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Education CreditsCRCC Credit - (2.0)Approved by Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor

Certification (CRCC) • By Monday August 22, 2011, participants must score

80% or better on a online Post Test and submit an online CRCC Request Form via the MyTACE Portal.

My TACE Portal: TACEsoutheast.org/myportal

**For CRCC credit, you must reside in the 8 U.S. Southeast states served by the TACE Region IV [AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN]. If beyond TACE Region IV, you may apply for CEU credit.

http://tacesoutheast.org/myportal


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Southeast TACE (Region IV)Toll-free: (866) 518-7750 [voice/tty]

Fax: (404) 541-9002

Web: TACEsoutheast.org

My TACE Portal: TACEsoutheast.org/myportal

Email: [email protected]

http://tacesoutheast.org/

http://tacesoutheast.org/myportal

mailto:[email protected]


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Disclaimer

This presentation was developed by the TACE Center: Region IV ©2010 with funds from the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) under the priority of Technical Assistance and Continuing Education Projects (TACE) – Grant #H264A080021. However, the contents of this presentation do not necessarily represent the policy of the RSA and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government [34 CFR 75.620 (b)].


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Copyright Information

This work is the property of the Marc Gold & Associates

Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the authors. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the authors.

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