About This Resource
This toolkit was initially created for our CA:RISE program, and is now available to the field!
Purpose & Introduction
Participant employees stop engaging with an employment social enterprise (ESE) for a variety of reasons, such as child care constraints, transportation barriers, a new job opportunity—among others. Typically, ESEs note whether an individual completed the ESE experience and track overall retention rates. Rarely do practitioners evaluate what happens along a participant’s experience in the program and how that may contribute to whether or not they drop off prematurely. This makes it difficult for ESEs to identify the root causes that drive low retention and intervene appropriately.
The purpose of this toolkit is to support ESEs in looking at retention comprehensively. We begin with an overview of adult education theories so ESEs can better understand what helps to create engaged, motivated learners. Next, we include a participant map that shows the process by which participants move from initial entry to a successful program exit. Finally, we help ESEs analyze the factors that prohibit retention by providing a tool to track participants through each milestone of the participant experience.
After reviewing these resources and implementing the tools in their own contexts, ESEs will be better equipped to design an environment that prevents drop-offs and to understand the factors behind retention trends.
Download the map here:
About Flying Whale Strategies
Flying Whale Strategies is supporting a new wave of nonprofit leaders who design definitive solutions to age-old problems. These leaders are working on deeply rooted challenges that have no foreseeable solution: hunger, the education system, criminal justice reform, the climate crisis, the refugee crisis, to name a few. And yet despite the enormity of these challenges, we believe nonprofit leaders could begin with the question, “Why can’t we?” They offer consulting and training in: culture, leadership, development, and operations.