Agenda Item 1: NoRTEC Contract Requirements

- The nine business services as outlined in the NoRTEC Contract were distributed and addressed by Charles Brown, NoRTEC Director. C. Brown said these were in the contract to encourage a full package of business services. He said there were no specific services levels because the whole idea is too new to have solid objectives. It is expected to be a developmental process, with better ideas and services added over time based on experience and learning from each other. He said the most important category was Human Resource support, since this is at the core of what we do. He said he would probably question it if there was no activity in a category. For example, two counties had no layoff activity for the year. That will need an explanation and a plan for next year.

Agenda Item 2: Outline of Current Business Services Offered

- Each County reported current business services activity. During this session several ideas were shared for Fee-for-Service, program revenue generation for subcontractors.

- Josephine (Siskiyou) asked C. Brown what would happen if they werent able to generate significant amounts of fees for their business services? C. Brown said it was not likely to be a contract item, so it would mostly hurt their credibility and their pocketbook. He said the WIA funding was not likely to increase for awhile and their only hope of continued operation was if they could help offset their costs through fees or some other supplemental income. He said the program was being encouraged to leverage local resources and to build partnerships with local business, and charging a reasonable fee for some of the specialized services seemed a business way to accomplish that. The inability to generate fees also raises the question of value; what value does the local business community see in our services if they are unwilling to pay for them? He said he thought it important to establish our credibility first, then consider introducing a fee for some of the services to sustain our ability to deliver the full range of services. He said he thought we would all benefit from trying to honestly attach a value to any and all the services we provide, and asking if anybody would be willing to pay to receive this service. It is not necessary to charge for everything, but we have limited (dwindling?) resources, and we should be focusing our attention on providing the services people want.

- C. Brown said he also wanted to make it clear that Business First was not a passing fancy, based on local circumstance or funding levels. It is the program focus the WIB and Governing Board want, and it is the only reason we are getting continued Rapid Response funding. (We don't have enough substantial plant closures to justify our level of funding.) He said he has heard comments about needing a certain level of funding to sustain the business services and wanted to clarify that business services are at the forefront of our service delivery system and will remain so no matter what level of funding we receive.

Agenda Item 3 & 4: Fee-for-Service Current & New Ideas/Revenue Generation

Current Services

- Customer Service Training - $200/hr, $1,000 per group, or $59/person

- Customized Workshops, i.e. Supervisory Training, Communication, Customer Service Costs negotiated, average at $150 - $200/hr.

- Pre-Employment Testing, i.e. Clerical Skills, Computer Literacy, Math, Reading, MBTI Costs range from $5/test, $50/person (reading, math, etc)

- Telephone Etiquette Training Individual or group rates

- Computer Skills Training Quickbooks, Excel, Word, charges range from free to $20 to $59/per class/per student.

- Employee Handbooks Costs range from $60 to $300

- Position Descriptions Costs range from free to $100

- Room Rentals - $50/half day, $100/full day

- Payroll Services Various fees associated dependent on size, etc. approximately $150/set up, $50/payroll period, etc.

- Customized Recruitment various fee schedules dependent of requested services, i.e. collect applications, preview applications, interview assistance, reference checks, background checks, etc.

- Applicant Screening Services Trinity is charging, Tehama is not charging

- Hiring Tax Credits fees being charged in Enterprise zone counties with paperwork processing (i.e. Shasta and Siskiyou)

New Service Ideas

- Safety/OSHA Compliance Training set up contracts with local employers to provide monthly training to their employees compliant and relative to their business.

- One-Stop/Independent City annual events to be opened to a broader range of students with a fee attached for attendance (sliding scale/sponsorships, etc).

- Administrative Professional Training expand training beyond computer skills and telephone etiquette. Create a training that could be packaged and individualized.

- Correctional Facilities Contracts Offer pre-release programs on a monthly basis at a per class charge to local correctional facilities.

- Website Design/Development Lump fee for classroom portion + follow-up charges and marketing assistance.

- Labor Law Posters Broker labor law poster sets to assure compliance. Break-even on costs zero program revenue.

- Career Development in the Workplace Provide customized career development and team building training in local workplaces. Assessment, interpretation, summaries could be provided for better productivity in the workplace. Costs could be lump charge or per person.

- Career Development and Planning for Youth Provide a package to parents of high school youth for career planning including career goals, college selection and applications, college grant applications, etc. Reasoning: High school counseling departments are grossly understaffed and parents of middle to upper class students would be willing to pay for these services.

- Life Skills Workshops Provide a package to parents offering a workshop that teaches the basics to their teens of financial planning, real work values, study habits, etc. to assist with transition to college or being on their own.

Other Ideas were shared but these were the ones captured on paper.

Agenda Item #5: MIS/Data Entry

- Review of WIA-121 generation by the MIS Business Services system was reviewed. Proper data entry was explained.

Agenda Item #6: Writing a Business Plan

- Staff from Shasta and AFWD shared their draft business plans. After discussion, the group agreed to get a Business Operations Plan for each county (operational plans, business plans, and/or marketing plans) to Charles Brown at NoRTEC by August 15, 2004.

Agenda Item #7: Training for FY 04-05

- Members of the meeting have a strong interest in NoRTEC sponsored training in the areas of marketing and human resources. NoRTEC staff will be looking into NCHRA Human Resource Generalist Certification Training and DOL/Marketing Training (Celina Shands) as potential offerings next fiscal year. The challenge for all counties will be the availability of funding for staff development.

Agenda Item #8: D & O Insurance Coverage Update

- In a private, non-profit, D&O covers Directors, Officers, and employees, paid staff, and volunteers of the non-profit corporation in their policy. In situations where a client sues an employee, this case would be covered under the Professional Liability clause under the General Liability Policy.

Agenda Item #9: Wrap Up

- The next meeting of NoRTEC Community Coordinators and/or Business Services personnel is scheduled on Tuesday, August 24, 10a 3p in Redding. (Location, agenda, etc. will be arranged)