Voices from the Field: Workforce Responses to COVID-19

The survey collected nearly 150 responses from workforce development professionals representing seven states — Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington. The survey was also accompanied by three roundtable discussion sessions that drew approximately 40 participants. From this feedback, and as presented in this brief, researchers were able to draw key themes and lessons learned and note the ongoing challenges for workforce development professionals still navigating a great deal of uncertainty. In this brief, researchers offer recommendations for the public workforce system to consider in this ongoing time of change.

Three primary topics emerged:

1. Initial Transition. Local workforce development boards had to quickly plan for safe service delivery in what was primarily a system centered around physical spaces and in-person meetings, training, and service delivery. Leadership had to quickly ensure that staff had the tools needed to work remotely and that they were knowledgeable enough to use these tools well. This challenge was compounded by a perceived lack of top-down leadership and guidance from federal and state policymakers.
2. Digital Divide. Many are concerned about the digital divide and the lack of access to virtual services. Some reported difficulty accessing Internet services while working from home. Some rural respondents even reported using Wi-Fi hotspots from their phones to be able to work. Another significant concern of staff is the idea of monitoring participants who are accessing services digitally. Responses pointed to the difficulty of adapting a system that is more focused on meeting programmatic work and training requirements than on tailoring services to individual needs.
3. Emotional Impact. The shift to operating in a virtual environment also led many survey respondents to report that their need for self-care was now much higher, as the boundaries between home life and work-life became blurred while working remotely. There appears to be a greater appreciation for well-being and how it affects all facets of life, including how individuals show up for and perform at work and with other tasks, such as job searches. Respondents reported this humanizing effect of interaction as restoring compassion that might have ebbed away during years of emotionally taxing, very personal work. Greater compassion and empathy might lead to better programmatic outcomes.

(This report is 11 pages long.)

From the analysis of the survey responses of workforce development professionals representing seven states, the researchers identified the following findings:

1. The most significant lesson (within and outside of the workforce system) is that virtual services and training can be done and done well. Many people made a rough transition to virtual services, but once the logistics were figured out, they found that they could provide high-quality services in a more flexible way. While it is true that not everyone has access to adequate technology and that more work needs to be done in the area of digital equity, virtual services are working and preferred by many.
2. While people did adapt, survey and roundtable respondents expressed regret at not having more opportunity to become familiar with different technological tools before COVID-19 forced rapid learning. Many reported learning on the fly and having to dually assist colleagues and customers in navigating the new methods of working and interacting. The diversity of comfort levels and understanding of technology within local offices was frequently noted as a lesson learned in the survey and roundtable sessions.

Based on survey responses, the system made sudden adaptations, which deserve to be commended, but now is the time to make strategic adaptations. The researchers recommend that state and local service providers ask critical questions such as:

1. Is technology the problem? Or is it how staff are using the technology?
2. What technologies best support what staff want to do?
3. Does the public workforce system have the right staff in place? And do they have the right skills?
4. How do staff use technology more effectively to serve people who prefer it so that staff can be freed up to support customers that need in-person services?
5. Are staff and the public workforce system more broadly prioritizing their own comfort and programs over the needs of job seekers?

From a broader perspective, the researchers made the following recommendation for future consideration:

• Moving forward, the public workforce system and other service providers in the field must consider the ways to incorporate the advancements of the past year-and-a-half more permanently and continue to build upon those technological advancements, all in a strategic effort to enhance service delivery and cast a wider net of support for those in need.

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2021
• Author(s): Volpe, L.; Barnett, S.
• Funding Source: John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Justin Venneri
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies