Evaluation of the Minnesota DEED Workforce Innovation Grant

Three main design components of the new platform were: integration of workforce system tools and resources (e.g., job postings, workshop listings, and career planning resources); use of a modern interface with customized content; and support for collaboration and communication among workforce system staff, partner organizations, career seeker, and employers. In 2017, the new platform was integrated into the CareerForce branding initiative in Minnesota thus, adopting the name CareerForceMN.com. With a modern interface and customized content for each user, the platform contains online communication tools that are meant to appeal to a broad audience, including career seekers, employers, workforce staff, and partners.

This evaluation documents: (1) how the Minnesota WIF grant program was implemented, (2) program outcomes before and after rollout, and (3) the allocation of grant expenditures and cost-effectiveness. The researchers assessed early indicators of satisfaction and examined the portal’s performance following its launch. Data sources included program documents, interviews with project stakeholders, administrative data, and surveys of career seekers, employers, and workforce system staff.

The report authors noted that overall, workforce staff and partners were optimistic about the future of CareerForceMN.com and the CareerForce brand. Most expect that the CareerForce initiative will improve the customer experience and engage more career seekers and employers with the workforce system services. Their study points to some encouraging signs of grant performance, even though the researchers indicated that they cannot attribute these changes causally to development of the platform.

Key findings include the following:

• Engagement of and support from key stakeholders throughout all phases of the project was a critical part of the WIF project’s success. Early advocates for the WIF project included staff from partners and DEED Divisional Leadership. During the build phase, the WIF project team engaged 130 DEED staff and other stakeholders through discovery sessions and workgroups.
• Using an agile design approach, the platform vendor completed a series of two-week sprints to develop and deploy CareerForceMN.com functionality.
• A higher percentage of employers reported “some interaction” with the workforce system after the platform launch. However, the portion of employers who reported being “not at all satisfied” also increased.
• A total of 101,674 visitors accessed the platform between November 2018 and May 2019. On average, visitors accessed 4.62 pages per session, which was considered successful engagement.
• A total of 6,362 users created an account on CareerForceMN.com between November 2018 and April 2019. On average, approximately 1,000 new accounts were created each month.

The evaluator offered several recommendations for implementing similar projects in the future. These included:

1. develop a system for continuous feedback to gather input from diverse user groups;
2. prioritize the development of a single sign-on system to facilitate integration of the platform with related workforce portals and partner websites; and
3. maintain robust training and outreach to workforce staff and partners to encourage adoption and utilization of the new platform.

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2019
• Author(s): Mian, P., Nanda, N., Smith, J.
• Funding Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Wesley Peterson
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies