As we continue working toward an economy where all jobs are good jobs, access to practical tools and actionable strategies is important. While policy remains a key lever for change, there’s also immense power in the actions organizations take every day to try to improve wages, strengthen benefits, advance equity, and create safer, more supportive workplaces. Whether it’s advising small businesses — as we’ll explore in our June 26 webinar— supporting worker voice, or advancing equitable development, businesses, government, labor, community-based organizations, philanthropy, lenders, and workforce and economic development organizations, among others, all have a role to play in shaping jobs that provide dignity, stability, and opportunity.In this edition of the Job Quality Newsletter, we’re spotlighting practical resources to help you take meaningful steps in your work. Explore the tools below, and consider sharing them with colleagues and partners working to elevate job quality.
Tools & Resources: Job Quality Center of Excellence
JOB QUALITY CENTER OF EXCELLENCE
Have you visited our newly revamped Job Quality Center of Excellence yet? It’s your one-stop shop for curated tools, frameworks, case studies, event recordings, and more — all designed to support leaders and practitioners who are advancing job quality in their work.
Here are a few highlights to get you started:
- Job Quality Frameworks topic guide: This topic guide is a great place to start if your organization is new to thinking about job quality. It contains helpful resources for understanding job quality and building a consensus on what job quality means in your line of work, including several different frameworks for understanding and improving job quality.
- Case Studies: One type of resource available in the Job Quality Center of Excellence is case studies. The wide range of available case studies covers many different organization types and job quality issues, providing users with examples and best practices to emulate, as well as challenges and potential solutions from real-world examples.
- The Shared Power Advantage: A playbook from the Aspen Business Roundtable on Organized Labor in collaboration with Charter. This resource offers strategies for building thriving, equitable workplaces by giving employees a meaningful voice. It highlights how worker empowerment can align with business goals like innovation and inclusion, and it provides practical guidance for employers looking to collaborate with workers and unions.
Contribute Your Tools and Insights
Have a tool, framework, or resource that’s helped you improve job quality? We’re expanding our library and invite you to share your contribution with the community.
JOB QUALITY IN PRACTICE SERIES
Important conversations to add to your watchlist.
Our Job Quality in Practice webinar series explores how we can move beyond identifying the few “good jobs” and instead focus on transforming work so that more jobs meet the needs of today’s workforce. The series shares practical strategies and tools for leaders across sectors to drive meaningful change in job quality. Below are events from 2024 to add to your watch list and an upcoming event to add to your calendar.
Video — Tapping into Worker Voice to Improve Job Quality: Lessons from the Talent Pipeline Management Network
We hosted a discussion on how workforce intermediaries can harness worker voice to improve job quality. Leaders from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Talent Pipeline Management Network, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Foundation Workforce Center, and the Kalamazoo Literacy Council shared strategies that create better outcomes for both workers and employers.
🎥To learn more, watch the full event recording here.
Video — Seizing the Moment on Worker Rights: A Toolkit for Organizers and Practitioners
In a time of political gridlock, this webinar, which we co-hosted with Workshop, explored how executive action can be a powerful tool for advancing worker rights. Featuring insights from Workshop’s “Toolkit: An Organizer’s Guide to Executive Action,” the event offered practical guidance for advocates and organizers. Watch the recording and dive into the toolkit to learn how you can help build a more equitable economy.
Video — Community Benefits Agreements: A Tool for Creating Good Jobs
Discover how Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) can ensure real community input and tangible benefits from major development in this discussion, which we hosted in collaboration with Jobs to Move America. Watch the event recording to hear from experts and practitioners about how CBAs are being used to improve job quality and create more equitable outcomes for historically disadvantaged communities.
Webinar June 26 — Advising Small Businesses on Job Quality: Lessons from CDFIs
🗓️ Mark your calendar for our upcoming Job Quality in Practice webinar, “Advising Small Businesses on Job Quality,” on Thursday, June 26, from 3:00 pm to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time.
Learn More
The Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy. Follow us on social media and join our mailing list to stay up-to-date on publications, blog posts, events, and other announcements.