Greater Boston Chamber Partners With JVS Boston to Provide “Job Quality Benchmark” Analytics for Chamber Members

Index assists employers in improving appeal of available jobs by showing how compensation, scheduling, career opportunities compare to peers

The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce has signed an agreement with Jewish Vocational Service, one of New England’s largest and most effective workforce development agencies, to make JVS Boston’s “Job Quality Benchmark Index” (JQBI) assessment and job redesign coaching available to Chamber members to help these companies make available positions more competitive and appealing to job seekers, especially in today’s volatile labor market.

The JQBI helps employers determine how they compare to other local companies and organizations on key factors including salary, benefits, work schedules, access to a career ladder, and a supportive workplace environment, including commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. By showing employers where they rank relative to peers on specific job titles, the JVS Boston JQBI highlights how employers can adjust pay scales, benefits, and workplace practices to become more attractive to job prospects and provide better jobs for local residents.

“One of the ongoing challenges for our members is the attraction and retention of talent. As we compete against other cities to make sure that people want to start, stay, and succeed here, we need assessment tools like the Job Quality Benchmark Index to help us evaluate challenges and find strategic solutions,” said James E. Rooney, President & CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. “We’re looking forward to working with JVS Boston and this job quality assessment tool to help the region’s workforce crisis.”

JVS Boston President and CEO Kira Khazatsky said, “In some industries, the JQBI has revealed that a number of employers are offering far-below-competitive market salaries or fewer attractive benefits. In others, what it reveals is that improving non-salary measures–such as by offering more flexible hours or clearer career-advancement pathways–may be the most important steps an employer can take to staff unfilled positions. Quantifying these key data points allows employers to see how they stack up and then take the first steps.”

The JQBI, which first went into development in 2017 and has been continuously refined and improved since, draws on JVS Boston’s decades of work with hundreds of employers and thousands of job seekers. As a connector of employers and job seekers, JVS Boston leverages knowledge from both sides to suggest the most appealing job redesigns, as well as refer job seekers to high-performing employer partners. The 50-question survey typically requires no more than 20 minutes for an employer to fill out.

“Besides the valuable competitive intelligence it provides employers about how they rank relative to competitors on key measures, the JQBI helps provide more detailed guidance to job seekers about employers offering options most important to them such as schedule, benefits, and workplace support,” said JVS Boston Senior Vice President of Employer Engagement Mandy Townsend.

For local and statewide policymakers, the JQBI also generates authoritative, up-to-date workplace data for about pay, benefits, and workplace practices and the impact and effectiveness of local government policies and mandates.

The Chamber and JVS Boston are launching the JQBI partnership first with financial-sector employers implementing the survey for “universal banker” roles and for members in multiple sectors in hospitality and environmental-service roles. JVS Boston and the Chamber will offer financial-sector members receiving a summary report a five-session workshop series to learn about and implement high impact job redesigns.

JVS Boston has also begun licensing access to the JQBI to other workforce development agencies around the country, including Brighton Center in Newport, K.Y., serving Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, and the CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity in Syracuse, N.Y.

About the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce

We are the convener, voice, and advocate of our region's business community, committed to making Greater Boston the best place for all businesses and all people to thrive. We help our members and Greater Boston succeed by convening and connecting the business community; researching, developing and advocating for public policies that contribute to our region’s economic success; and providing comprehensive learning and development programs designed to grow strong business and civic leaders. Learn more at BostonChamber.com.

About JVS Boston

Jewish Vocational Service (JVS Boston) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonsectarian organization founded in 1938. JVS Boston serves more than 15,000 individuals annually and is one of the largest community-based providers of adult education and workforce development services in New England. JVS Boston’s mission is to empower individuals from diverse communities to find employment and build careers, while partnering with employers to hire, develop, and retain productive workforces. In support of this mission, JVS Boston provides a wide range of adult education, vocational training, job readiness, career counseling, and job placement services, as well as related supportive services.

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To help its members in better #recruiting and retaining staff, Greater @BostonChamber of Commerce licenses @JVSBoston's innovative "Job Quality Benchmarking Index" assessment. #hr #talent #management