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The Southern Institute on Children and Families is
pleased to release the
Southern Business Leadership Council Charlotte Metro Area Employer Initiative
Project Report. The report describes employer perspectives on issues related
to low-wage employment stability gathered through interviews conducted with
employers from Charlotte, North Carolina and provides summary information on
employer views collected during an Employer Dialogue Session held in Charlotte
in March 2007. Please continue reading below to learn more about this
initiative.
The Southern Business Leadership Council (SBLC)
Charlotte Employer Initiative began in January 2007. Charlotte, North Carolina
is one of three communities in which the Southern Institute on Children and
Families visited to identify employer perspectives on challenges and
opportunities related to promoting stability in the low-wage workforce. The
first employer initiative was conducted in the District of Columbia Metropolitan
Area in 2006. A third employer project was conducted in South Carolina’s Upstate
Region during the spring of 2007. Upon completion of all employer initiatives an
analysis of findings was prepared to assist the SBLC in development of the
Southern Business Leadership Council Employment Stability Action Plan.
The SBLC Charlotte Employer Initiative includes employer
interviews and an Employer Dialogue Session to produce firsthand employer
insight on barriers to stable employment and strategies to assist low-wage
individuals with improving stability in the workplace. Quantitative and
qualitative data was gathered through telephone interviews with Charlotte
employers, during which they were asked to answer questions and provide comments
on specific issues, as well as to share information on strategies they have
utilized to improve worker stability. Employer interviews took place during
February 2007.
On March 14, 2007, the Southern Institute conducted the
Charlotte Employer Dialogue Session. We worked with the Charlotte Chamber of
Commerce to develop an invitation list, and nine area employers participated.
The Southern Institute has extensive experience in conducting dialogue sessions
to identify barriers and promising practices and is recognized for its design
and execution of dialogue sessions that produce information needed to develop
action plans.
The Southern Institute prepared a report on the SBLC
Charlotte Employer Initiative in September 2007 that was disseminated to
sponsors, employer participants and SBLC members. A PDF version of the
SBLC Charlotte Metro Area Employer Initiative Project Report is available on
this Web site. The report includes data gathered through the employer interviews
and the Employer Dialogue Session. The report also describes barriers to
employment stability and strategies employers have tried in an effort to improve
stability as reported by Charlotte employers. Participating employers and
sponsors will receive the Southern Business Leadership Council Employment
Stability Action Plan when it is released in 2008.
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