Nonprofit workforce organizations face growing expectations to not only demonstrate their impact, but to also serve more participants both better and more efficiently. However, limited funding, resources, staff, and quality training opportunities make it challenging to collect funder-required data, much less the qualitative insights needed to strengthen programs and improve outcomes.
CSW is conducting interviews with workforce practitioners to understand these challenges, and what’s being done to identify solutions. Zaman International, a humanitarian nonprofit based in Inkster, Michigan, is an example of one of these organizations. Zaman participated in the 2023-2024 Workforce Benchmarking Network (WBN) Detroit Cohort. WBN cohorts bring together workforce organizations from a specific region to use data to improve service delivery, program outcomes and overall impact. Below, Gigi Salka, Zaman’s Chief Workforce Officer, details how they are emerging as a regional leader in using qualitative data for strategic workforce planning and capturing their impact.
Please introduce Zaman. What does your organization do? What does your organization hope to achieve?
Zaman is a non-profit humanitarian organization located in SE Michigan. Our mission is to facilitate change and advance the lives of marginalized women and children by enabling them to meet essential needs common to all humankind. Our vision is to realize a world where women and their children can break the cycle of poverty, and self-direct their futures. Our unique approach provides a one-stop-shop at our Hope for Humanity Center that provides onsite case management to address basic needs, onsite food pantry, Good Deeds Resale shop, health center, and a robust educational, training and employment program.
Why did your organization apply to be a part of the Detroit WBN cohort? What problem were you hoping to solve as a result of your participation?
Zaman applied to be a part of the WBN cohort because we were in the early stages of developing non-traditional outcome measures to capture the impact we were seeing in our students’ growth but did not have data points to tell the story. We wanted to measure a student’s journey towards developing a growth mindset which we believe is the essence of attaining and retaining employment, as well as growing one’s career.
Zaman has begun to be known regionally, as a leader in the collection of nontraditional metrics. Can you describe that work?
Zaman has developed a Workforce Readiness Mindset Dimensions Assessment. The assessment is based on the Eight Dimensions of Wellness and the Hope Employability Scale. Pre and post assessments measure the following: Personal Values, Emotional, Healthy Lifestyle, Social, Futuristic Self, Global, Self Worth, Intellectual, Work Values, Occupational, Digital Technology, and Financial. Based on the pre-assessment scores, the Career Navigator provides targeted coaching in the areas most needed. Providing a client centered approach to coaching allows the client to develop their work readiness skills more effectively. Our goal is an improved post assessment score in the targeted area.
How has Zaman’s data culture evolved through its participation in the WBN cohort participation?
Zaman has always had a data driven approach to decision making, but we did not capture the full impact of our work. With the help of the WBN, we developed a new set of metrics that better tell our story. It provides a holistic view of the client’s journey as they move up Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs from Physiological Needs to Self Actualization. The WBN expanded our collaboration across departments to capture and analyze data relating to our common goal of creating a positive life change for our clients. Our data is no longer just a set of numbers, it tells a story.
Thinking ahead, how do you see this evolution of practice impacting your strategy and impact? What do you hope to achieve?
We hope to tell a better story of the impact Zaman is having on our clients towards their goal of creating a positive life change which leads to breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty and supporting economic development in our community. Analyzing client data holistically across programs and using the workforce readiness dimensions we have developed will allow us to lean into the programs we already have at Zaman, such as the health center and the client services departments. In addition to providing individualized client-centered interventions, our enhanced data model will shape future initiatives. For example, through the WBN experience, we identified a need to develop a Zaman Alumni Network. That is our next area of focus.
What advice what you give to other organizations who might be debating whether to participate in an upcoming WBN Cohort?
The WBN provides a framework to do some introspection on your organization. It helps you revisit your core values and re-examine the work you are doing to reach “mission point”. We are all so busy with daily program management that we don’t take the time to step back and analyze the impact of our work. The WBN not only creates a framework for self-assessment, but it also provides solutions and guidance on how to improve current processes, develop new ones, or better understand the data you are already collecting to create meaningful change.
Any other information that you see fit to share?
Zaman is working towards expanding the mindset of workforce development beyond employment data metrics, to look at the workforce development system through a larger, more inclusive lens that plays an essential role in sustainable economic growth. We hope to develop qualitative data standards that shape workforce development, in addition to the current quantitative data.
Zaman is an example of how leveraging data-driven insights and intentional reflection can strengthen workforce engagement and overall organizational impact. By aligning qualitative metrics with programmatic outcomes, nonprofit organizations can use data for learning, advance workforce analytics, and build a stronger foundation for workforce retention. As organizations like Zaman continue to invest in understanding data and using it to support the full participant journey, they enhance their ability to make informed program decisions, improve outcomes and more meaningfully tell the impact of their work.
To learn more about the WBN please visit the CSW site here.
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