How Community-Based Organizations Can Partner with Job Organizations

Posted by Laura Amendola on May 22, 2024

For community-based organizations, partnering with a job organization can enable them to do more for their mission. Job organizations often have more resources they can use to help better support the community orgs and achieve more success. These partnerships can take the potential a community org has and take it to the next level.

 

For job-based organizations, working closely with a community organization can strengthen local ties and connect those who need jobs with those who have open positions quickly.

 

Read more: YouthBuild Boston - Empowering Youth & Strengthening the Community

 

Training programs are a great way for these organizations to combine their efforts. Community members are able to gain new skills that make them more desirable candidates, and jobs are able to fill roles with community members who got the training they know they’ll need to do the job.

 

Many community organizations work to make the lives of their members better, so doing its part to set up training programs people can partake in can help them achieve success in the long run. This success can also make the organization more reputable and potentially increase program participation.

 

Read more: What is the Difference Between Job Training and Workforce Development?

 

Job fairs are a great way to spike interest in different roles within a job organization. It’s also a good way for members of the community to network. When job orgs and community orgs team up to organize job fairs, it’s a win-win for both groups!

 

Mentorships can be instrumental in helping people grow. Pairing up professionals in a job organization with members of a community organization can help the community member reach their full potential and allow them to make a connection that could get them far. The job org benefits in this scenario by having members of the community learn and develop from people already in the org who can prepare them for a role within the company.

 

Read more: The Value of Training Current Employees vs. Hiring New Ones

 

There are several actions these orgs can take to start and maintain partnerships.

 

The first thing to do when considering a partnership is determine what you are looking to achieve. Remember that “partners” implies both parties will get something out of the union, so be sure to communicate and work together to make the partnership mutually worthwhile.

 

According to the Harvard Business Review, “only 20% of organizations believe they successfully communicate their strategy to a broad set of external stakeholders.” Be the exception by demonstrating excellent communication with your partner.

 

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Trust is the foundation all the best relationships are built on, including business relationships. Both organizations should be able to rely on each other and regularly engage through meetings or conferences to ensure growth and success.

 

Digital marketing is the current way of the world, so using technology for joint campaigns can prove to have a high reach. It’s also a great way to ensure members of both orgs get the information they need and can encourage them to get more involved. Social media can get the word out about events spawned by your partnership and can drive up attendance and participation.

 

It’s important to measure how your partnered initiatives are doing and if any adjustments need to be made. It’s unlikely you’ll hit it out of the park with every collaboration, but some great things can be born out of failures. Keep what works and revise what doesn’t, and listen to feedback from the people who know best: those on the frontlines.

 

Read more: The ROI of Workforce Development

 

Shout out the victories of your partnerships and, more importantly, the people from both organizations that made those victories possible. This shows that your partnership is successful and that you appreciate the hard work done by those involved. It can also help raise morale.

 

Read more: Why Celebrating Employee Success is Vital to Company Retention (and How to Do It)

 

Take advantage of partnership opportunities that make sense for your organization. You can achieve mutual success, which can lead to even more opportunities, by building partnerships that take your brand to the next level. To learn more, reach out to Penn Foster’s training experts and get on your way to a beautiful partnership today.