Leading Your Board in a Flat World

To be successful in the 21st century, businesses have learned that they must adopt new practices including:

  • Organizing and doing business around functional work processes.
  • Setting standards and developing common processes for basic business functions.
  • Creating powerful collaborations with internal and external stakeholders to provide high quality services.
  • Developing communication networks that provide real-time information and keep all stakeholders informed.
  • Creating effective supply chains that streamline work processes and integrate key functions and services across a wide range of business partners.

For workforce systems to work effectively in this changing business environment, they must learn how to adapt their own practices to embrace these fundamental principles. And these changes have to start with State and local Boards.

Engaging and Developing Your Board

State and local workforce boards are expected to lead the development of dynamic, high-performing workforce systems. This requires exceptional leadership from Board members. It also requires the articulation of a clear vision and the creation of economic and workforce development strategies that meet the imperatives of a global economy. In many cases, this will also lead to the restructuring of local workforce systems to better align with the Board's vision and strategies.

The Widing Group provides a wide array of services to engage, develop and support State and local Workforce Boards in carrying out their mission.

ManagerLeading Your Board in Creating a Consolidated Workforce System
The Widing Group has extensive experience in helping State and local Boards develop consolidated workforce systems that include TANF, Adult Literacy and other funding streams. We can help yours, too, through:

  • Board Action Planning
  • Setting Board standards for workforce functions to ensure consistency of service across all program areas.
  • Engaging and working with Board committees and staff in the implementation of consolidation action plans.
  • Providing technical assistance and support for policy-making and oversight of One-Stop operations in a consolidated system.

Making Your Board More Responsive to the Needs of Business
The Widing Group has helped many Boards become more responsive to local employer needs.We can help you:

  • Facilitating your Board in setting standards for working with business customers.
  • Perform industry analysis and develop sector strategies
  • Conduct Employer Focus Groups
  • Conduct community outreach and consensus building
  • Coordinate Stakeholder Forums
  • Develop effective strategies for coordinating with economic development.
  • Providing technical assistance.


Helping Your Board Operate More Effectively
For a variety of reasons, Workforce Boards will sometimes face difficulties in engaging business members, governance, policy-making or other areas.  The Widing Group has assisted many struggling Boards by helping them:

  • Re-define their vision and strategies to change the Board's focus
  • Re-energize business participation by helping Board staff develop strategies for working with business members that keep members engaged.
  • Set up more effective governance structures and committees.

Oversight of One-Stop Systems and Programs
We can help improve the oversight of your local One-Stop system through the development of concrete One-Stop standards, meaningful evaluation mechanisms and constructive continuous improvement processes.

  • One-Stop Chartering criteria and processes
  • One-Stop Standard Setting
  • One-Stop Accountability systems and evaluations

For more details on how The Widing Group can help with State and local Board development and strategic planning, go here.