The profile features an interview with A Few Cool Hardware Stores founder and CEO, Gina Schaefer, who explains her decision to convert to an ESOP, the process of transitioning to employee ownership, and the challenges and successes she and the new employee owners have encountered along the way. Gina recently published a book, Recovery Hardware, about the business’s journey in helping revitalize neighborhoods and in supporting employees to improve their lives.

An interview with Kevin Oxley, owner of Carpet One Floor and Home and a regional business coordinator with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE). Carpet One Floor and Home was part of a pilot, a collaboration between the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program, Pacific Community Ventures (PCV), and the CDLE, focused on advancing job quality among small businesses. A part of EOP’s Reimagine Retail Initiative, with the support of Walmart, the pilot deepened relationships between small businesses and workforce organizations in the pursuit of improving jobs and boosting businesses’ bottom lines. The pilot paired small businesses recruited by CDLE’s business services team with good jobs advisors from PCV’s business advising network to implement strategies from their new Good Jobs Good Businesses Toolkit. Businesses also received specialized state and regional support and resources from the CDLE business services team. Kevin and Carolyn share experiences with this pilot, the impact of the pandemic on businesses like Carpet One, and how collaborative and creative partnerships that improve job quality can benefit workers and businesses across the country.

Improving job quality not only transforms workers’ lives, but it also benefits businesses’ performance and bottom lines. Highlighted in this brief is Sunrise Treatment Center, a leader in the addiction treatment sector that provides stable, sustainable jobs. Founder Dr. Jeffrey Bill, Chief Operating Officer Steven Smith, and Chief Human Resources Officer Brett Burns developed strategies to simultaneously meet the needs of their patients and their commitment to employees. Sunrise Treatment Center saw sustained growth and improvement in both capacity and caregiving by ensuring that the focus of the organization was explicitly two-fold: to provide the highest quality treatment for patients with substance abuse issues and mental illness, and to offer a great place to work for employees.

This profile describes Linda Nguyen’s efforts to establish Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) during her tenure with Jobs to Move America, a policy advocacy organization. JMA has taken an innovative approach to CBAs, developing contracts with businesses that receive public infrastructure funding. This resource can be useful for practitioners exploring different ways to structure CBAs to support quality jobs as well as those interested in the intersection of job quality and environmental advocacy.

This profile documents how YouthBuild Philly engages retail businesses to strengthen equity, inclusion, and retention for the young people the organization serves. Key practices include identifying quality jobs and providing training and coaching to frontline managers to foster supportive supervision. Workforce organizations seeking to forge stronger business partnerships that improve worker retention can learn from these approaches.

The Employee Ownership Toolkit is a step-by-step guide for transitioning a company to cooperative ownership. The experience of South Mountain Company is described in detail, helping bridge the gap between theory and practice. Definitions of certain technical terms, particularly concerning finance, are also provided.

Companies can play an important role in making online upskilling accessible and relevant to frontline workers. Our latest report documents one partnered approach to designing and piloting an online training program for incumbent workers, led by a food service company, a civic leadership organization, and a local university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It explores how Eat’n Park partnered with Robert Morris University and the Allegheny Conference on Community Development to design and deliver digital training to frontline Eat’n Park employees. Our profile shares findings from a pilot customer service training program, focusing on the experiences of workers who participated and their managers

This report shares how Goodwill San Diego adapted its culture and operations to enhance job quality and business performance in response to a mandated local minimum wage increase, including developing transparent career pathways, investing in leadership development at all levels, and building a culture of learning and development. Businesses and service providers seeking to get ahead of minimum wage legislation and improve job quality can learn from the practices outlined in this profile.

In recent years, the United States grocery industry has become increasingly competitive and experienced unprecedented consolidation. In Chicago, 25 stores closed between 2015 and 2017 — bringing the total number of stores down to its lowest number since 2009. Independent, privately owned food retailers rate competition as their highest concern, followed by worries about hiring and retention. In 2017, sales declined for half of the nation’s independent grocers. Pete’s Fresh Market (Pete’s) offers a notable exception. Launched in the early 1970s as a small, full-service produce stand on the South Side of Chicago, today Pete’s has 13 stores in the city and plans to open five more in the next few years. This family-owned grocer recognizes what it takes to succeed in a rapidly changing industry. One key to Pete’s growth strategy is its partnership with Instituto del Progreso Latino (Instituto), a nonprofit organization committed to the fullest development of Latino immigrants and their families through education, training, and employment. Reimagine Retail, an initiative of the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program funded by the Walmart Foundation, explores ways to enhance job quality and improve mobility for the retail workforce. In Chicago, we partner with a collaborative of workforce organizations, including Instituto, that is testing approaches to advance and retain workers in the retail sector. We caught up with Alita Bezanis, director of organizational development at Pete’s, and Yesenia Cervantes, dean of student services and community affairs at Instituto, who were eager to share how the partnership supports growth for Pete’s — and for Pete’s workers.

In Boston’s increasingly competitive hotel industry, what does it take to stay on top? The Omni Parker House, America’s longest continuously operating hotel – and proud originator of the Boston cream pie – earns its four-star Trip Advisor rating by investing in its most important asset: its people. The first step is meeting basic employee needs through generous wages and full benefits. But the key to the Omni’s exceptional customer service lies in recruitment, training, and performance management systems that empower frontline staff to make decisions, solve problems, and advance to management roles. The Aspen Institute recently spoke with Alex Pratt, Area Director of Human Resources at Omni Hotels & Resorts, a chain of 53 hotels that includes Boston’s Omni Parker House. Alex brings more than 25 years of experience in hospitality, and has achieved industry-leading retention and high employee satisfaction at the Parker House.