Building Shared Success: A Guide to Small Business Job Quality Advising for CDFIs
Maureen Conway
Vice President; Executive Director
Rossana Espinoza
Associate Director, Business Ownership Initiative
Bryn Morgan
Senior Research Associate
Developed as part of the Shared Success demonstration, this tool offers guidance for business advisors at CDFIs on how to have conversations with small business owners on job quality improvements.
It centers business value and includes a variety of information and resources to assist business owners in addressing poor job quality. The tool revolves around two central questions:
- How can implementing certain job quality improvements help business owners achieve desired business outcomes?
- What strategies can be used by business advisors to demonstrate how these outcomes may surface?
This tool also encourages CDFIs, who mainly work with business owners, to consider the perspective of the business employees themselves. Ultimately, there are many opportunities for small businesses to improve the quality of jobs of their employees as part of their work in building a successful business.
For additional resources, on the six categories of job quality detailed in this tool, visit the Building Shared Success topic guide in our Job Quality Center of Excellence.
About Shared Success
Good jobs and strong businesses are vital to the well-being of communities across the country. Yet millions of workers struggle with poor-quality jobs, and small business owners often struggle to find and retain the employees they need. Shared Success, a project of the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program (EOP), shows how building better jobs can simultaneously uplift workers while also driving small business success. Supported by a $12 million investment from the Gates Foundation, EOP partnered with 11 community lenders to integrate job quality programming into their small business support services, addressing the needs of employees while helping small businesses succeed.
About the Economic Opportunities Program
The Aspen Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.
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Advising Small Businesses on Job Quality: Lessons From CDFIS
