A collaboration between Esher House and employment services provider WISE Employment that aimed to boost disability employment outcomes through WISE’s South Australian operations has been recognised as one of the employment services sector’s most innovative programmes.

Esher House worked with WISE Employment in South Australia over a period of two years to integrate behavioural science-driven job seeker participant assessment technology and targeted resilience interventions into its disability employment operations across 15 offices.

The programme’s impact on WISE Employment’s operations and the outcomes of jobseeker participants using WISE’s employment services led to NESA naming the initiative as an Innovation in Disability Employment Award finalist ahead of this year’s 2019 NESA Awards for Excellence.

The NESA Innovation in Disability Employment Award recognises those employment service providers, employment organisations or employers who are using innovative service strategies or initiatives to contribute to the employment inclusion of people living with a disability.

Esher House CEO Darren Coppin said the WISE Employment and Esher House collaboration in South Australia was a microcosm of what is possible for employment services in Australia.

“We’re all about building better lives for participants in employment services. Together with WISE Employment, we aimed to demonstrate how behavioural science and data analytic technology can lead to a better understanding of jobseekers that enables case managers to support jobseekers in a very efficient, very person-centric and very human way. This is reflected in the higher outcomes achieved.”

A central challenge faced by DES providers is understanding job seekers and building trust from the beginning, so they can respond to barriers effectively through targeted intervention services and progress the participant into meaningful work. The ability to get this right quickly can literally mean the difference between meaningful employment and the slip into long-term unemployment.

The WISE and Esher House collaboration sought to understand and respond to participant attitudes towards employment, using the latest in behavioural science, predictive analytics and machine learning. In overhauling and innovating WISE’s case management approach, it was able to facilitate a more person-centric, efficient, accurate and human approach to participant support.

Following its success in South Australia, WISE Employment went on to integrate the Esher House into its disability employment services operations Australia-wide. WISE Employment has a total of 139 DES offices across NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

About WISE Employment

WISE Employment is an Australian not-for-profit employment services provider with offices in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory. Since 1992 WISE Employment has been connecting and empowering job seekers and employers because of its  belief that our community benefits when everyone is supported to achieve their potential. Each year WISE helps more than 10,000 people on the path to self-sufficiency through meaningful work.