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Carrying the Lessons of the Pandemic into the Future

Carrying the Lessons of the Pandemic into the Future

March 29, 2021

Every smart CEO is considering how the lessons of the pandemic can carry over into the future. The fundamental question: How can we leverage the knowledge we’ve acquired this past year to enhance the company’s overall performance?

Articles over the past six months by Accenture, McKinsey, Harvard Business Review, McLean and Company and others, suggest a coalescing of opinions on the workplace in four major areas:

1. Technology
The digital transformation has changed how we work. Hardware and software that revolutionized the work-from-home experiences and team collaboration are increasingly commonplace. Companies that make smart decisions on how to effectively combine the in-office employment model with remote employment models will most likely gain a competitive edge. Where has your company benefited from remote work? How can remote work become integrated into your employment practices? There is no reason to believe that a one-size-fits-all model is necessary or even the most beneficial to the company or its employees.

2. Culture
Over the past year, some employers have been watching their culture evolve into a virtual model and others, seeing the writing on the wall were driving the evolution. Culture is too important to simply allow it to evolve. Building a remote culture must be intentional—ensuring that best practices emerge. Because the most effective, competitive companies will see some combination of remote and in-office employment models, there needs to be an understanding and planful integration of the two cultures.

McLean & Company’s 2021 HR Trends Survey of 850 business professionals conducted in October and November of 2020, citied that the pandemic brought to the fore challenges in the workplace around diversity, equity, and inclusion (i.e. childcare, remote access, pay gaps, and others). Smart companies are actively making DEI a top priority, challenging organizational norms and building a culture that retains top talent and realizes the many benefits of a diverse workforce.

3. Talent
There are opportunities to innovate around recruiting and rewarding talent. First, companies should re-assess their location-based pay bands and recruiting strategies, because remote working allows employers to cast a wide net to obtain top-notch talent. Some major HR consulting firms like McLean and Company suggest that support for working-at-home may become an employee perk, with packages including anything from home broadband and office furniture to childcare support.

4. Performance Control
Ensuring the productivity of employees at all levels has always been a top priority. Employee incentive models, supervisory training, team building and performance tracking are some of the practices that have been put in place to enhance employee productivity. For some leaders, this issue is more critical in a remote working environment. Setting up supervisory and technological structures to ensure the productivity of both in-office and remote staff is critical.

This is a time for innovation. Companies committed to evolving–with all the learning the pandemic has afforded–will be best positioned for strong future performance.

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The Fedcap Group Appoints Marc S. Cooper to Board of Directors

The Fedcap Group Appoints Marc S. Cooper to Board of Directors

New York, NY, January 2021 — The Fedcap Group, a leading nonprofit that creates opportunities for individuals facing barriers to economic well-being, is pleased to announce the appointment of Marc S. Cooper to its Board of Directors.

Marc S. Cooper is Chief Executive Officer of PJ SOLOMON. He was previously Vice Chairman and joined the firm in 1999 as a Partner and Managing Director.

“I welcome Marc to The Board of the Fedcap Group. He provides a wealth of knowledge and leadership experience that will enhance our work to ensure sustainability, relevance and measurable impact,” said Mark O’Donoghue, Board Chair.

“We’re honored to have Marc join our dedicated Board of Directors. I welcome his expertise and enthusiasm as we head into the new year, eager in our mission to empower people of all abilities to live full and meaningful lives,” said Christine McMahon, President & CEO of The Fedcap Group.

As the former Head of PJ SOLOMON’s Consumer Retail group, Marc advised a long roster of high-profile retail and branded companies on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations and restructurings. He is also a thought leader on capital markets and shareholder activism. These include Hudson’s Bay Company, Finish Line, Kenneth Cole, Proenza Schouler, Quiksilver, The Jones Group, Rag & Bone, Kering, Zales, At Home, Deckers, Steve Madden, Genesco and Barneys.

In 2016, Mr. Cooper led the transaction in which Natixis SA purchased 51% of PJ SOLOMON creating an enhanced global M&A advisory and financing platform. Under Marc’s leadership, PJ SOLOMON has significantly expanded and diversified its industry portfolio.

Prior to joining PJ SOLOMON, Mr. Cooper co-founded and served as Vice Chairman of Barington Capital Group. He began his career in investment banking at Kidder Peabody. He holds an MBA, magna cum laude, from New York University.

“I am proud to join the team that is making a measurable difference, replicating successful models throughout the company’s footprint in 22 states, Canada, Scotland and England,” said Mr. Cooper.

About The Fedcap Group

For 85 years, The Fedcap Group has developed innovative and scalable solutions to some of society’s most pressing problems, addressing needs and changing lives. Serving over 250,000 people each year, The Fedcap Group provides education and training, workforce, and economic development—all targeted to helping people achieve long-term self-sufficiency.

Contact

The Fedcap Group
Rose Anello
ranello@fedcap.org

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Arifa and Fedcap, Inc.: “If you work hard and put your heart and soul into it, you can achieve whatever you want.”

Arifa and Fedcap, Inc.: “If you work hard and put your heart and soul into it, you can achieve whatever you want.”

“You have to face your challenges, and if you work hard and put your heart and soul into it, you can achieve whatever you want.”

Arifa Hossain came to the United States from Bangladesh with her husband and two children in 2016. Eight months after they arrived, Arifa’s husband tragically passed away, leaving her alone to raise and support two young children. Arifa was terrified—she never left the house alone or traveled alone, and didn’t speak English. She had no employment history. All decisions were made by her husband.

Arifa was forced to move her family into a basement apartment on Queens that was infested with rodents and insects. She became depressed, and her son wanted the family to move back to Bangladesh. Having nowhere to turn and not knowing what else to do, Arifa applied for TANF benefits from the state and was assigned a case manager from Fedcap Inc., Sushmita Bit. It would prove to be a life-changing meeting for Arifa, and the beginning of a long friendship.

Sushmita encouraged Arifa to seek work as a home health aide. For Arifa, the notion was hard to accept. Her family members In Bangladesh were academic and professionals, who would consider caregiver work beneath their dignity. There were cultural constraints that Arifa struggled to overcome. She told Sushmita that she would only work for a family that shared her religious faith, would not work in a house with a dog, would not work for a man, and would not travel outside of Queens.

Sushmita and Arifa met frequently, and spoke almost every day on the phone. Sushmita encouraged her to be strong, and to start building a new life. There was no one to take care of her, she said; Arifa would have to take care of herself and her family. If she wanted to get off of public assistance and become independent and self-supporting, she would have to work. After much encouragement and with ongoing support, Arifa gradually agreed to relax her conditions, and soon entered a training program to become a home health aide, earning a certificate. Within a year she was working fulltime, taking care of patients in Long Island.

Then something wonderful happened–Arifa’s son, who was attending community college in Queens, was accepted at SUNY Buffalo. With only three days to decide whether to accept the offer, the family visited Buffalo the next day. Afraid that she wouldn’t be able to find work in a strange city, far from the encouragement and support of Sushmita, Arifa was reluctant to leave her job. But Sushmita encouraged her, saying this was an incredible opportunity for her son, and that work would be easy to find in Buffalo. Arifa decided to move.

It turned out to be a great decision. As Sushmita had promised, trained home health aides were harder to find and more in demand in Buffalo than in NYC. The family was also able to escape the infested apartment in Queens, and avoid the high cost of living in NYC.

In Buffalo, Arifa had no car and little money, and did not understand the public transportation system, but she assured prospective employers that she would find a way to get to her job as she had in Queens—she would walk if she had to.

Arifa was hired, at first at 20 hours per week. After proving herself to be a hardworking and committed employee she was promoted to full-time, and now works 56 hours per week, taking care of a woman from Mexico. Over time she became comfortable traveling alone, and has learned to use the bus system to get to and from work.

At Sushmita’s urging Arifa began saving her money—she is now financially independent and is no longer on public assistance. The best news of all—Arifa purchased her own home! She has developed a circle of friends, who have helped her settle in. She continues to save money and is enjoying the slower pace of Buffalo. “It is a great achievement in my life,” Arifa said. “All of my sisters and brothers called to congratulate me. I am very happy that my son is happy too.”

Sushmita was thrilled for her client and friend when she heard the news. “Arifa called me one morning and informed me that she bought a house. She said this was a dream come true for her, and thanked everyone at Fedcap who supported her in her journey alone. She has achieved something no woman in her family has ever achieved. I feel so happy because I was able to make a change in Arifa’s life. It is an experience that I think she will remember forever.”

When Arifa isn’t working, she hones her computer skills, hoping to secure an office job, preferably with the NY State Government. She still talks to Sushmita frequently. Occasionally, Sushmita will ask her to call other women who are struggling, to share her own story of overcoming barriers and proving that anything is possible.

“I tell them be strong, be brave. You have to face your challenges, and if you work hard and put your heart and soul into it, you can achieve whatever you want.”

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Women who Stand Out by Standing Up

Women who Stand Out by Standing Up

March 22, 2021

In this blog–my last segment dedicated to women during Women’s History Month—I wanted to focus on mothers who made the world stronger, equitable and more just. Some of these names will be familiar, some not. Each fought in different ways to advance justice and equity.

In 1826, Sojourner Truth (circa 1797—1883) and her baby daughter escaped slavery in Ulster County, New York. Soon after her escape, she heard that her five-year-old son, Peter, was illegally sold to a man in Alabama. Truth raised money for a lawyer, filed a complaint in court, and successfully got Peter out of slavery—a landmark case. Truth went on to become a Christian preacher in New York City and toured the Northeast, speaking about the Bible, abolition, and women’s suffrage.

Candy Lightner delighted in her twin daughters. In 1980, a hit-and-run drunk driver killed her daughter Cari. The driver had had three prior convictions for drunk driving and had been arrested two days prior for a hit-and-run. Lightner’s pain became the force behind her founding of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Through its work to raise awareness and get tougher legislation passed, MADD has helped save hundreds of thousands of lives.

Alberta Williams King was the mother of three children. She was also very active in women’s rights, the NAACP, and the YWCA. She raised her children to have self-respect and taught them that the segregation they experienced was “a social condition and not a natural order.” Her son, Martin Luther King Jr. said of his mother “she made it clear to me every day that I must never allow the Jim Crow world to make me feel inferior. She taught me to stand tall.” In 1974, six years after Dr King was assassinated, Alberta King was shot and killed at her organ in Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Waris Dirie was a victim of female genital mutilation at the age of five. At 13, when her parents arranged for her to marry a man in his sixties, she ran away from home. Dirie went on to be a successful model, retiring to found an organization called Desert Flower that combats female genital mutilation around the world. As the mother of four children, she told Harper’s Bazaar that female genital mutilation isn’t just a women’s issue: “Every education begins with Mama. We have to rethink what we teach our sons. That’s the most important thing.”

Mary Harris Jones, who later became known as “Mother Jones,” faced tremendous sorrow in her life. In 1867, she lost her husband and four young children to yellow fever. After months of a depression so deep in her soul she could not move, she knew if she did not do something, she would die. She moved to Chicago and opened a dress shop—which promptly burned to the ground in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. It was during this period she became aware of the horrendous labor conditions—especially for children. She channeled her pain and frustration to organizing union strikes and fighting against child labor. Mother Jones was sentenced to prison several times and was denounced on the floor of the US Senate as the “grandmother of all agitators.” Her response: “I hope to live long enough to be the great-grandmother of all agitators.”

Debby Elnatan is a mom of three sons. Her second son, Rotem, was born with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Medical experts warned Elnatan that he shouldn’t crawl or walk, as it might worsen his muscle spasms. Elnatan was devastated as she saw what sitting motionless was doing to her toddler. Against doctor’s orders, she began helping her son stand up and move. This was good for Rotem but tough on his mother physically. After a few fits and starts, she developed a device to help them both. Rotem wore a harness with straps attached to a belt that went around Elnatan’s waist and kept him standing upright. They wore sandals attached to one another, so if Elnatan took a step, Rotem did, too. Rotem continued to gain strength and could now kick a ball with his father and brother. When Elnatan felt Rotem’s feet pushing to take steps, she knew he was walking. She partnered with a manufacturer and the result was Upsee™. From the moment the Upsee was marketed on the Internet, thousands of orders poured in from parents worldwide, eager to help their children experience life to the fullest.

22 Marzo 2021

Mujeres que Se Destacan, Manteniéndose en Pie
En este “blog”, que es el último de mis segmentos dedicado a las mujeres durante – el Mes Internacional de la Mujer — quería centrarme en las madres que hicieron el mundo más fuerte, más equitativo y más justo. Algunos de estos nombres te serán conocidos, otros no. Cada una luchó de diferentes maneras para promover la justicia y la equidad.

En 1826, Sojourner Truth (cerca 1797-1883) y su hija escaparon de la esclavitud en el condado de Ulster, Nueva York. Poco después de su fuga, se enteró de que su hijo de solo cinco años, Peter, fue vendido ilegalmente a un hombre en Alabama. Truth recaudó dinero para un abogado, presentó una queja en la corte y logró sacar a Peter de la esclavitudl; un caso histórico. Truth se convirtió en predicadora cristiana en la ciudad de Nueva York y recorrió la Costa Este, hablando sobre la Biblia, la abolición y el sufragio femenino.

Candy Lightner se deleitaba con sus hijas gemelas. En 1980, un conductor ebrio atropelló y mató a su hija Cari. El conductor había tenido tres condenas previas por conducir ebrio y había sido arrestado dos días antes por atropello. El dolor de Lightner, se convirtió en la fuerza que la llevó a la fundación de su Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). A través del trabajo de la organización, creando conciencia y lograr que se aprobara una legislación más dura; la fundación MADD ha ayudado a salvar cientos de miles de vidas.

Alberta Williams King era madre de tres hijos. También fue muy activa en los derechos de las mujeres, la fundación NAACP y la fundación YWCA. Crió a sus hijos para que se respetaran a sí mismos y les enseñó que la segregación que experimentaban era “una condición social y no un orden natural. ” Su hijo, Martin Luther King Jr. dijo de su madre “ella me dejó claro todos los días que nunca debía permitir que el mundo de Jim Crow me hiciera sentir inferior. Ella me enseñó a mantenerme firme.” En 1974, seis años después de que el Dr. King fuera asesinado, Alberta King fue asesinada a tiros cuando estaba sentada a su órgano en la Iglesia Bautista Ebenezer.

Waris Dirie fue víctima de la mutilación genital femenina a la edad de cinco años. A los 13años, cuando sus padres le organizaron un matrimonio arreglado, con un hombre de unos sesenta años; huyó de su casa. Dirie, pasó a ser una modelo exitosa, retirándose después, para fundar una organización llamada Desert Flower; la cual combate la mutilación genital femenina en todo el mundo. Como madre de cuatro hijos, le dijo a Harper’s Bazaar que la mutilación genital femenina no era sólo un problema de mujeres: “la educación de cada uno comienza con mamá. Tenemos que reflexionar en lo que les enseñamos a nuestros hijos. Eso es lo más importante.”

Mary Harris Jones, quién más tarde sería conocida como “Mother Jones”; se enfrentó a una tremenda tristeza en su vida. En 1867, perdió a su marido y a sus cuatro hijos pequeños de fiebre amarilla. Después de meses de una depresión tan profunda en su corazón, que no le permitía moverse, sabía que si no hacía algo, moriría. Se mudó a Chicago y abrió una tienda de ropa, que rápidamente se incendió hasta los cimientos, en el Great Chicago Fire de 1871. Fue durante este período que se dio cuenta de las horrendas condiciones laborales, especialmente para los niños. Canalizó su dolor y frustración, organizando huelgas sindicales y luchas contra el trabajo infantil. Mother Jones fue condenada a prisión varias veces y fue denunciada en el recinto del Senado estadounidense como: la “abuela de todos los agitadores”. Su respuesta: “Espero vivir el tiempo suficiente para ser la bisabuela de todos los agitadores”.

Debby Elnatan es madre de tres hijos. Su segundo hijo, Rotem, nació con parálisis cerebral cuadripléjica espástica. Los médicos expertos le advirtieron a Elnatan que no él debería gatear o caminar, ya que eso podría empeorar sus espasmos musculares. Elnatan estaba devastada al ver que el estar sentado sin movimiento, le estaba haciendo a su hijo pequeño. Contra las órdenes del médico, comenzó a ayudar a su hijo a ponerse de pie y a moverse. Esto fue bueno para Rotem, pero difícil para su madre físicamente. Después de unos cuantos ajustes y comienzos; desarrolló un dispositivo que ayudaría a ambos. Rotem llevaba un arnés con correas atadas a un cinturón que iba alrededor de la cintura de Elnatan y que lo mantenía de pie. Llevaban sandalias atadas unas a otras, así que si Elnatan daba un paso, Rotem también. Rotem continuó ganando fuerza y ahora podía patear una pelota con su padre y hermano. Cuando Elnatan sentía que los pies de Rotem se esforzaban en dar un paso, ella sabía que estaba caminando. Se asoció con un fabricante y el resultado fue Upsee™. Desde el momento en que “Upsee” fue comercializado en Internet, miles de pedidos llegaron de padres de todo el mundo; ansiosos por ayudar a sus hijos a experimentar la vida al máximo.

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The Impact of a Different Lens

The Impact of a Different Lens

March 15, 2021

I love history. I love reading about it and gleaning present day insight from 200-year-old happenings.

At the same time, I am continually frustrated by the fact that history is told almost exclusively through a male lens. Historians use facts gathered from primary sources of evidence and then shape them so that their audience can understand and make sense of them. This process is actually interpretation. When it is predominantly one gender making this interpretation, the rear window is skewed.

Celebrating Women’s History Month provides an opportunity to explore how different our view of our collective history might be, if it had been authored by women.

In 1992 UNESCO launched the Memory of the World Programme to facilitate universal access and preservation of documents that reflect the history, culture, tradition and values of their membership nations. Among the initial 426 inscriptions of documentary heritage submitted, only five related directly to the culture’s experience as told by women.

I often wonder how different our world construct would be, if women were the drivers of the narrative. And how this predictably altered chronicle would impact our understanding of ourselves, our roles, our accomplishments and our social compact with one another.

For example, if history was told by women, would it be—as it has almost exclusively been—focused on war and conquest? Or might history be told through the evolution of family and community, with a footnote about the impact of war and conquest?

Would history have been written through a framework of collaboration and shared success rather than power and hierarchy? And how would that impact the way we measure success and strength today?

If women had been written into history based on their actual level of accomplishments, would the role that was ascribed to women have been as narrow or the glass ceiling so hard to break through?

Would we be more sensitized to the harm women experienced throughout history (that continues to this day)? I am not talking about the familiar story of discrimination and harmful conditions in the workplace. I am talking about the fact that six women are killed by men every hour across the world in what the United Nations calls the “global pandemic of femicide” and almost no one talks about it.

If history was told through the perspective of women, might slavery be more fully understood as a planned process of the rape and sale of children in order to expand the colonies, instead of primarily an economic strategy? Jennifer Morgan’s recent book Laboring Women: Reproduction and Gender in New World Slavery delves into the concept that when Black women were brought from Africa to the New World as slave laborers, their value was determined by their ability to work as well as their potential to bear children. The book examines for the first time, how African women’s labor–in both senses–became intertwined in the growth of the English colonies.

History is not a static set of facts, etched in stone. History is a prioritization and interpretation of events that changes with the interpreter. During Women’s History Month I encourage readers to explore interpretations of history from multiple lenses … it might impact our view of it, and of one another.

15 Marzo 2021

El Impacto desde un Lente Diferente

Me encanta la historia. Me encanta leer acerca de ella y deducir el conocimiento de los acontecimientos de hace 200 años.

Al mismo tiempo, estoy continuamente frustrada por el hecho de que la historia se cuenta casi exclusivamente a través de un lente masculino. Los historiadores utilizan hechos recogidos de fuentes primordiales de evidencia y luego les dan forma para que su audiencia pueda entenderlos y darles sentido. Este proceso es realmente una interpretación. Cuando es predominantemente un solo sexo haciendo esta interpretación; esta interpretación está distorsionada.

Celebrando el Mes Internacional de la Mujer, ofrece la oportunidad de explorar cuán diferente podría ser nuestra visión de nuestra historia colectiva, si hubiera sido escrita por mujeres.

En 1992, la UNESCO puso en marcha el Memory of the World Programme, para facilitar el acceso universal y la preservación de documentos que reflejen la historia, la cultura, la tradición y los valores de sus naciones miembros. Entre las 426 inscripciones iniciales presentadas de documentales sobre el patrimonio, sólo cinco se relacionaban directamente sobre la experiencia cultural de ellas; de acuerdo con lo contado por las mujeres.

A menudo me pregunto cuán diferente sería nuestro formado mundo; si las mujeres fueran las impulsoras de la narrativa. Y cómo esta crónica previsiblemente alterada afectaría la comprensión de nosotras mismas, nuestros roles, nuestros logros y muestro pacto social entre las unas y las otras.

Por ejemplo, si la historia fuera contada por las mujeres, ¿se centraría—comolo ha sido casi exclusivamente —en la guerra y la conquista? ¿O podría contarse la historia a través de la evolución de la familia y la comunidad; con una referencia al pie de la página; sobre el impacto de la guerra y la conquista?

¿Se pudeira haber escrito la historia, a través de un marco de colaboración y éxito compartido, en lugar del poder y la jerarquía? ¿Y cómo afectaría eso, a la forma en que medimos el éxito y su fuerza hoy en día?

Y si, las mujeres hubieran estado escribiendo la historia basándose en su nivel real de logros: ¿habría sido el papel tan pequeño que se les atribuía a ellas o el romper todas las barreras, tan difícil de lograr?

¿Estaríamos más sensibilizados con el daño que las mujeres han experimentado a lo largo de la historia (el cual continúa hasta nuestros días)? No me refiero a la historia ya conocida, de discriminación y condiciones nocivas en el lugar de trabajo. Me refiero al hecho de que seis mujeres son asesinadas por hombres cada hora en todo el mundo; en lo que las Naciones Unidas llaman la “pandemia mundial de feminicidio” y casi nadie habla de ello.

Si la historia se contara a través de la perspectiva de las mujeres, ¿podría entenderse más plenamente la esclavitud; como un proceso planeado de violación y venta de niños, con el fin de expandir las colonias, ¿en lugar de primeramente una estrategia económica? El reciente libro de Jennifer Morgan, Laboring Women: Reproduction and Gender in New World Slavery, profundiza en el concepto, de que cuando las mujeres negras fueron traídas de África al Nuevo Mundo; como trabajadoras esclavas, su valor estaba determinado por su capacidad para trabajar, así como en su potencial para tener hijos. El libro examina por primera vez cómo el trabajo de las mujeres africanas–en ambos sentidos–se entrelazaba en el crecimiento de las colonias inglesas.

La historia no es un conjunto inalterable de hechos, grabados en piedra. La historia es dar prioridad e interpretación a acontecimientos que cambian con el intérprete. Durante el Mes Internacional de la Mujer, animo a los lectores a explorar interpretaciones de la historia desde múltiples lentes… podría afectar nuestra visión de ella; así como la del uno en el otro.

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Standing on Shoulders

Standing on Shoulders

March 8, 2021

March is Women’s History Month. So much is written every year about the remarkable women who made a difference; many of whom were the first to do something. The first to go into space, first to serve in a national political role, first to be hired as the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, first to become a doctor, first to fly a plane, first to practice law, first to graduate from Harvard or Yale and so on. Certainly, we owe these women a profound debt of gratitude. They broke the glass ceiling, making it easier for the next woman and then next and the next…

I applaud them for their courage and strength.

Side by side these brave women, live another group who also personify courage and strength. These women do not make headlines; we don’t even know their names. These are the women on whose shoulders we stand, because they steadfastly do what needs to be done; and they have been doing it for centuries.

These are the women who work three jobs to make sure that their children have a place to sleep, food on the table and clothing for school. These are the women who put in extra hours, although they are already exhausted–to earn money so their child can go to that special summer camp or take an important college prep course. These are the women who sit by the hospital bed of their chronically ill child for eight hours and then work a 10-hour shift—hiding their bone-tired weariness. These are the women who raise their sons alone and teach them about honor, commitment and integrity. These are the women who work full time and after work head straight to their Mother’s, to provide care and support.

Every day, since the beginning of time, women—often relegated to second class citizens by the society in which they live—have simply done what they needed to do. Their work never brought fame nor fortune, recognition nor praise. It certainly was not glamorous. It just was.

Most of the time, they did the same work as their male counterparts, but were paid significantly less.

Their efforts did not change the world, but most likely changed someone’s world.

Courage, more often than not, is the simple act of doing. Strength is the act of doing it over and over again, because it needs to be done.

So, as we celebrate Women’s History Month—I want to thank the women who, for hundreds of years, have demonstrated the courage and strength to … do.

8 Marzo 2021

Marzo es el Mes de la Historia de la Mujer. Se escribe tanto cada año sobre las mujeres notables las que han hecho la diferencia; muchas de las cuales fueron las primeras en hacer algo. La primera en ir al espacio, primera en servir en un papel político nacional, primera en ser contratada como Presidenta Ejecutiva de una compañía ‘fortune 500’, primera en convertirse en doctora, primera en volar un avión, primera en ejercer la abogacía, primera en graduarse de Harvard o Yale y así sucesivamente. Ciertamente, debemos a estas mujeres una profunda deuda de gratitud. Ellas rompieron todas las marcas, haciéndolo más fácil para la próxima mujer y luego la siguiente, y la siguiente etc.

Las aplaudo por su coraje y fuerza.

Al lado de estas valientes mujeres, vive otro grupo de ellas, que también personifican el coraje y la fuerza. Estas mujeres no aparecen en los titulares; ni siquiera sabemos sus nombres. Estas son las mujeres en cuyos hombros estamos parados; porque hacen firmemente lo que hay que hacer, y lo han estado haciendo durante siglos.

Estas son las mujeres que trabajan en tres empleos; para asegurarse de que sus hijos tengan un lugar donde dormir, comida en la mesa y ropa para la escuela. Estas son las mujeres que trabajan horas extras, aunque ya estén agotadas; para ganar dinero para que sus hijos puedan ir a ese campamento especial de verano o tomar un importante curso de preparación universitaria. Estas son las mujeres que se sientan junto a la cama del hospital de su niño enfermo crónico, durante ocho horas y luego trabajan un turno de 10 horas, y no mostrando en su físico, el cansancio. Estas son las mujeres que crían a sus hijos solas y les enseñan sobre el honor, el compromiso y la integridad. Estas son las mujeres que trabajan a tiempo completo y después del trabajo se dirigen directamente a casa de sus madres, para proporcionarles cuidado y apoyo.

Todos los días, desde el principio de los tiempos, las mujeres — a menudo relegadas como ciudadanas de segunda clase por la sociedad en la que viven — simplemente han hecho lo que tenían que hacer. Su trabajo nunca les trajo fama, o fortuna, ni reconocimiento, ni alabanza. Ciertamente no fue glamoroso. Simplemente lo era.

La mayoría de las veces, hicieron el mismo trabajo que sus homólogos masculinos, pero se les pagó significativamente menos.

Sus esfuerzos no cambiaron el mundo, pero lo más probable es que hayan cambiado el mundo de alguien.

El coraje, más a menudo que no, es el simple hecho de hacer algo. La fuerza, es el acto de hacerlo una y otra vez; porque se tiene que hacer.

Así que, al celebrar el Mes de la Historia de la Mujer—quiero agradecerles a las mujeres; quienes durante cientos de años han demostrado el coraje y la fuerza de hacerlo.

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Activation of Purpose

Activation of Purpose

March 1, 2021

I have spent a significant amount of time in the past decade focusing on building structure within our growing organization. Structure that will last far beyond my tenure. Painstakingly, we’ve built the foundation to which our many processes and systems are bolted. I often say, and firmly believe, that good people fail in the absence of structure.

Structure is visible, it is tangible, it is reliable. If we want people to do things in a certain way, is it written down? Are expectations clear? Are people held accountable for doing that which they were trained to do? If we want to track something, do we have a mechanism? Is this data compilation and tracking embedded into our technological planning? If we want to hire and keep top notch talent, are hiring and performance evaluation processes systematized, standardized and monitored?

Every year we make progress in building sustainable structure. It is not easy, but it is doable.

What is less tangible, and in many ways more complex, is the challenge of building a common understanding of purpose, and alignment around what our company stands for among board, leaders and staff.

Transforming a company around its purpose requires deep and sustained commitment. This is one of the special roles of a CEO—and one that holds both promise and peril. It takes courage to lead conversations about purpose. It requires a willingness to embrace the struggle of diverse perspectives, ambiguity and confusion. It may require that people from across the organization stretch in some uncomfortable ways. One of the mistakes CEOs can make is assuming that your organization’s purpose is clear, that it is as bold as it needs to be, or that everyone is in agreement with it.

A recent survey by McKinsey and Company of 855 people across a range of US-based companies, roles and tenure found that 44 percent of respondents indicated that they work at companies that haven’t activated their purpose—meaning that leaders’ decisions are inconsistent with the company’s purpose, or that the company isn’t living up to its words. Further, a similar percentage of respondents said that the company’s purpose is not aligned with their own sense of individual purpose or values. They don’t see how they contribute to it, nor do they feel accountable to act in line with it.

The Fedcap Group’s purpose is to create opportunities to improve the lives of people with barriers to economic well-being. This purpose sounds simple enough to rally around, but it would be a mistake to think that. Every day we are finding new points of clarity. In one of our recent company leadership meetings, we were delving deep into what this purpose looks like on a day-to-day basis. We considered our approach to the delivery of behavioral health services. If we hold true to our purpose, then we would not simply provide clinical treatment–even excellent clinical treatment—but we would provide clinical treatment that is focused on long-term economic well-being. We would intentionally and planfully integrate our clinical work with our work readiness efforts. We would measure our success not simply by reduction of symptoms, but by stabilization, and obtaining and/or sustaining employment. As one of our agency leaders said, “work completes treatment.” This is where purpose gets real and fundamentally drives practice.

It is the role of a CEO to do what it takes to ensure clarity around purpose.This is exciting work. It is why I get out of bed every day. It is my goal (and I am building structure to measure goal achievement), that clients, staff and board see every day, in every company of The Fedcap Group, in every program and in every interaction–how our purpose is activated.

1 Marzo 2021

Puesta en Marcha del propósito
He pasado una cantidad enorme de tiempo en la última década, centrándome en la construcción de la estructura dentro de nuestra creciente organización. Estructura que durará mucho más allá de mi mandato. Concienzudamente, hemos sentado las bases a las que estan sujetos nuestros muchos procesos y sistemas. A menudo digo, y creo firmemente, que la gente buena falla en ausencia de estructura.

La estructura es visible, es tangible, es fiable. Si queremos que la gente haga las cosas de cierta manera, ¿está escrito? ¿hay expectativas claras? ¿Se responsabiliza a las personas por hacer lo que fueron entrenados para hacer? Y si queremos monitorear algo, ¿tenemos un mecanismo? ¿Esta recopilación tanto de datos como de seguimiento están integrados en nuestra planificación tecnológica? Y si queremos contratar y mantener el talento de primer nivel, ¿están sistematizdos, estandarizados y supervisados los procesos de evaluación de la contratación y el rendimiento?

Cada año avanzamos en la construcción de una estructura sostenible. No es fácil, pero es posible.

Lo que es menos tangible, y en muchos sentidos más complejo; es el desafío de construir un entendimiento común del propósito; un posicionamiento en torno a lo que nuestra organización representa tanto para la mesa directiva, los líderes y el personal.
Transformar una organización en torno a su propósito, requiere un compromiso profundo y sostenido. Esto es uno de los papeles especiales de una Presidenta Ejecutiva; así como una que sostenga promesas y riesgos. Se necesita valentia para llevar a cabo conversaciones sobre el propósito. Se requiere de voluntad para acoger el debate de diversas perspectivas, ambigüedad y confusión. Se puede requerir que las personas de toda la organización se amolden de alguna manera incómoda. Uno de los errores que pueden cometer los Presidentes Ejecutivos; es asumir que el propósito de su empresa es claro, que es tan audaz como tiene que ser, o que todo el mundo esté de acuerdo con ello.

Una encuesta reciente realizada por McKinsey and Company a 855 personas en una variedad de empresas, roles y antigüedad con sede en Estados Unidos, encontró que el 44 por ciento de los encuestados indicó que trabajaba en empresas que no habian activado su propósito, lo que significaba que las decisiones de los líderes eran incompatibles con el propósito de la compañía, o que la compañía no estaba cumpliendo con su palabra. Además, un porcentaje similar de los encuestados dijo que el propósito de la empresa no estaba alineado, con su propio sentido de propósito o valores individuales. Ellos no veían cómo contribuían a ello, y no se sentían responsables de obrar en concordancia con ello.

El propósito del Fedcap Group es crear oportunidades para mejorar la vida de las personas con barreras al bienestar económico. Este propósito suena lo suficientemente simple como para solidarizarse con él, pero podría ser un error pensarlo. Cada día estamos encontrando nuevos puntos de transparencia. En una de nuestras recientes reuniones de liderazgo de la organización; estábamos profundizando en cómo se ve este propósito en el día a día. Considerabamos nuestro enfoque en la prestación de servicios de salud del comportamiento. Si nos atuviéramos a nuestro propósito; entonces no simplemente proporcionaríamos tratamiento clínico; aún hasta uno excelente; sino que proporcionaríamos uno que se centrara en el bienestar económico a largo plazo. Integraríamos intencional y planificadamente nuestro trabajo clínico con nuestros esfuerzos de preparación para el empleo. Mediríamos nuestro éxito no sólo por la reducción de los síntomas, sino por la estabilización, así como obtendríamos y matendríamos empleo. Como lo dijo uno de nuestros líderes de la organización, “el trabajo completa el tratamiento.” Aquí es donde el propósito se vuelve real y fundamentalmente impulsa la práctica.

Es el papel de una Presidenta Ejecutiva hacer lo que sea necesario para garantizar la claridad en torno al propósito. Este es un trabajo emocionante. Es por eso que me levanto de la cama todos los días. Es mi objetivo (y estoy construyendo la estructura para medir el logro de los objetivos) que los clientes, el personal y la mesa directiva vea todos los días, en cada filial del Fedcap Group, en cada programa y en cada interacción, cómo se activa nuestro propósito.

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Lesson Learned: Vocational Training Project

Lesson Learned: Vocational Training Project

February 22, 2021

Mark Rolls leads Palladium’s work on Skills and Employment in the EMEA region of the world (Europe, Middle East, Africa). He recently wrote about his work developing cost effective and successful vocational training, which may offer lessons for organizations like The Fedcap Group, as we work to address the unemployment crisis.

He stated that “Around the globe, employers are struggling to find workers with the skills they need. For workers, this can be a huge opportunity to re-train, upskill and find new well-paid jobs, which makes it all the more puzzling when reviews on the effectiveness of vocational training programs come back mixed. Recent evidence reviews find that many training projects have only a modest impact on job creation and employment and are expensive relative to the income gains that they achieve.” 

Rolls went on to discuss a joint vocational training project between the UK and Switzerland entitled Sudokkho—which over the last six years, has helped over 71,000 young people gain steady work. Rolls highlighted that the Sudokkho training model has been particularly successful at reaching the extreme poor, who represented 63 percent of Sudokkho trainees.

Below is an excerpt from this article, Vocational Training is Worth the Money: Private-Sector Led Training in Bangladesh.

Industry-Aligned Training: Sudokkho tested two models of training delivered by the private sector. The first was delivered by commercial training institutions, and the second was delivered directly by employers in the workplace.

Focusing on sectors with a shortage of semi-skilled labour in Bangladesh – garment and construction – the program seized on the often-ignored opportunity for the private sector to deliver training that met the needs of the poor who had fallen through the gaps in the skills training system.

In a context where training has historically been paid for by donors and government who pay high subsidies, Sudokkho instead sought out existing training courses that individuals were willing to contribute to and that employers valued. Partner training institutes have noticed a difference. “The quality of training has greatly improved, with trainers preparing lesson plans according to the curriculum and conducting the classes accordingly,” says Md. Sumon Molla, owner of the Glorious Technical Training Institute. “As a result, the rate of graduation has increased to almost 100%. Our employee performance, training outcomes, business growth, and the recognition and reputation of my organization have greatly increased.”

In-Factory Training in the Garment Sector: The approach to in-factory training with the garment sector proved to be particularly successful and has been implemented in 194 factories across Bangladesh, which have invested a total of 6.9 £ million in training. In this approach, unskilled workers (91 per cent of whom are women) received structured in-house training delivered and funded by the employer. The training courses are short and intensive, responsive to the needs of the factory floor, actively involved middle management, and were delivered by supervisors. According to Sakhawat Hossain Khan, Deputy General Manager at Far East Knitting and Dyeing Industries, employees trained by Sudokkho added productivity to their operations. “The biggest development we observed after we started working with Sudokkho workers was that we could quickly deliver trained workers within 15 days according to the demands of the production floor,” he notes. “It brought a drastic change to our way of working.”

Affordable and Effective Training: Why has Sudokkho’s training proven to be so cost-effective? First, it focussed on affordability. The direct costs for a Sudokkho course were between 56.00£ to 85.00£, which trainees could recoup within two months of employment. In contrast, other training courses typically range from 350.00£ to 12,500.00£ per person, which could take upwards of four years for employees to recoup the costs. Second, employers were more willing to invest in training delivered directly in the workplace. Finally, the emphasis on industry-aligned, competency-based training has helped over two-thirds of training graduates into better jobs.

This experience in Bangladesh provides insight into how we can jump-start upskilling in the US, the UK and other parts of the world. 1) Find existing, industry-aligned training models that are respected across the field and leverage economies of scale in delivery to reduce costs. 2) Create a joint incentive for success by having the training participant pay for (at least a portion) of the training. 3) Engage business to provide the training at the workplace. 4) Measure impact both in completion of training, immediate job placement and ongoing productivity of trained workers.

This next year is the time for smart, effective partnerships between business and the nonprofit sector—working to help the unemployed obtain training and secure jobs that employers are having a hard time filling.

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