WorkLB for CBO's
Labor markets are changing. WorkLB will show how CBO’s (Community Based Organizations) can be key to helping communities respond. The program enables new services and new revenue streams for any participating CBO.
What can WorkLB do for a CBO?
-
New revenue: WorkLB relies on CBO’s acting as labor market intermediaries. Each CBO approves local work-seekers to use the platform under the CBO’s brand. The CBO sets a percentage markup that is paid on each hour worked in return for vetting and payrolling members of the community.
-
Community development: The CBO is incentivized to support and upskill work-seekers who can then earn more. Individuals with complex lives can be given the option of working hours of their choosing.
-
Serve wider businesses: Any CBO can exploit WorkLB and the CBO’s pool of work-seekers beyond serving City Hall’s needs. Local businesses can be taken on as clients and given system access so they can book from the CBO’s pool of labor as needed.
Self-service for workers/clients, under CBO control
WorkLB’s platform is built around self-service. The CBO decides who is allowed to use their version of the system, from that point on work-seekers enter their own availability for work and clients make their own bookings. But, of course, CBO staff can override the system at any point.
The platform can appear as a seamless section of a CBO’s website, presenting itself in your branding and colors while enforcing your rules. The system is multi-language and incorporates a suite of facilities for users with physical impairments.
WorkLB is part of the services provided by Pacific Gateway, the public workforce board for Long Beach and surrounding areas. Each CBO will gain extraordinarily detailed data on their work-seekers, the bookings (periods of work) enabled and opportunities for expansion. There is no charge for using the platform to connect people to work around the Long Beach area.
Every community has currently untapped potential; skills, potential skills and enthusiasms of local people that aren’t currently connected to the labor market. With CBO’s in the driving seat, WorkLB aims to bring the diverse talents of anyone seeking work into the local economy. This program already attracts national attention with multiple other states and cities exploring how to follow Long Beach’s lead. Each CBO partner could be creating a model that will be widely replicated elsewhere.
Further possibilities for CBO’s
-
Client budgets: A CBO can give any of their clients (buyers of labor) a budget that controls their purchasing of workers’ time. This is useful, for example, if managing limited resources. If a total budget of $100,000 for childcare is allocated to the CBO, each household needing childcare can be given an initial $200 a week to spend at the times they wish on the vetted childcare providers their children most like. Those with additional needs can be given more of course.
-
Build partnerships: One CBO can partner with any other. That means work-seekers belonging to CBO (A) can be booked by clients of CBO (B). It’s a way of deepening everyone’s opportunities. The two CBO’s agree a split mark-up that the system administers for them on these bookings. CBO’s who partner widely with each other will multiply openings for their work-seekers and their own revenue.
-
Job pathways: The platform can be configured to allow employers approved by the CBO to browse the CBO’s work-seekers, viewing the track record and accreditations of each. Those who seek a long-term position can be approached – through the CBO, or directly by hidden email address, depending on the CBO’s choice – and invited to interview.