NNSP releases new business brief.

From Hidden Costs to High Returns: Unlocking the Potential of the Lower-Wage Workforce

In these tough economic times, employers can improve their fortunes by investing in training and career development for their frontline employees, according to a business brief recently released by the National Network for Sector Partners (NNSP): From Hidden Costs to High Returns, Unlocking the Potential of the Lower-Wage Workforce is based on structured interviews with employers around the nation who have achieved significant bottom line benefits by undertaking innovative training and career development efforts targeted at their lower-skilled, lower-wage workers, and providing significant wage increases to those who develop valuable skills. Many of the employers participate in sector initiatives. 

Employers profiled in From Hidden Costs to High Returns note that efforts targeted at their lower-wage workers paid off for them and their employees. Some of the returns employers cite include:

• Increased revenue as quality and customer satisfaction rises.
• Decreased costs as errors, customer complaints, and supervisory interventions diminish.
• Improved employee productivity and morale
• Drop in costs related to vacancies, recruitment, re-training and overall turnover.
• Improved company image among both customers and employees.

Many of the employers the brief profiles participate in industry-sector focused workforce development efforts called sector initiatives. The SECTORS Act, which recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives with a unanimous voice vote, highlights the growing support for sector initiatives. In addition, more than two dozen states are engaged in designing or implementing strategies to support sector initiatives.

This research was conducted by the National Network of Sector Partners (NNSP), a nation-wide membership organization dedicated to promoting and increasing support for sector initiatives, and funded by the Hitachi Foundation. NNSP is an initiative of the Insight Center for Community Economic Development.