Employer Engagement Pilot Workbook
A full contact log can feel like progress. But which employers actually took the next step? This workbook helps you see what happened after the conversation, where progress stalled, and what to try next.
The Excel file is editable; the four-page PDF is a print reference. Use fictional or approved aggregate information only.
Prepared October 10, 2026 · Independent practitioner testing was waived. This tool supports planning, not eligibility, fiscal or apprenticeship approvals.
The Decode (30 seconds)
- The shift: A full calendar tells you the team is busy. It does not yet tell you whether an employer received help that changed something.
- The evidence: Follow the same group of employers through five steps, from the first contact to a service delivered. You can see where progress slows instead of blending every conversation into one big total.
- The limit: These numbers are clues for managing the work, not proof of impact or a full cost calculation. They cannot approve an apprenticeship program.
- What to try: Start with one recent group of employers. Look for the point where progress slowed, then choose one next move and name who will own it.
Start here (two minutes)
If your team has been busy connecting with employers, here is a chance to get curious about what happened next. The point is not to grade staff on how many meetings they held. It is to learn which employer needs became commitments and which still need attention.
Enter your inputs
Open Working copy and choose one employer group you can verify. Add the pilot, manager, dates and a clear rule for which employers belong. Enter the five stage counts in rows 16–20. Yellow cells are for inputs; green cells show the calculations. Keep employer names and personal details in your approved system, not in this workbook.
One small but important detail: the stages build on each other. An employer counted at a later stage also belongs in the earlier stages. Keep the employers who declined in the original group, too. Otherwise, the conversion rate can tell a more flattering story than the work itself. The workbook flags missing, fractional or inconsistent counts and leaves rates unavailable when the denominator is zero.
Read the results
The first number I would look at is not the contact total. It is the gap between a confirmed employer need and a service actually delivered. The workbook also shows commitment rates, unresolved cases, partial delivery cost, cost per implemented service, remaining budget and staff capacity used. Add staff hours, a locally estimated loaded hourly cost and direct expenses. Note what you could not count. The numbers should help you ask better questions, not make the decision for you.
Not sure where to begin? Open the Completed example tab. Its numbers are fictional, but it illustrates a useful management choice: check whether sponsor capacity is in place before expanding outreach. It is not a MassHire budget or a recommended target.
Decide and assign
This is the part that matters most: do not leave the meeting with only a percentage. Record the employer problem, what your team offered, who owns delivery, why some cases stopped and what evidence you used. Choose Continue, Change, Stop or Further evidence. Give the next step an owner and a date, then save a dated copy so you can see later whether the decision helped.
Boundaries and sources
A useful reminder: this workbook helps you manage a service, not prove its impact. It cannot establish savings, wage gains or return on investment. Independent practitioner testing was not conducted for this release. Automated formula checks do not establish ease of use or correct staff interpretation. The workbook does not approve grant spending, eligibility, procurement or apprenticeship registration. Check those matters with authorized local staff and the relevant apprenticeship authority before making commitments.
Read the companion MassHire case study for evidence, delivery constraints and a California adaptation. The underlying DOL report provides the research context.
Ownership and maintenance: Workforce Wonkery Practice editor. Review by April 9, 2027, or sooner after source corrections, requirement changes or formula edits. The print copy contains two pages per sheet; the XLSX remains the editable calculation file.