Q&A
Civil Service Ambassador Program outreach prioritization and engagement strategies
0:32:45
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162 sec
DCAS Assistant Commissioner Kadian Outar explains how they prioritize outreach for different civil service pathways and engage various communities through the Civil Service Ambassador Program.
- Outreach is guided by exam schedules, city needs, and local law requirements
- Events are combined to reach multiple target populations efficiently
- Educational institutions and community-based organizations tend to see higher engagement
- Challenges exist in reaching certain populations, such as those in drop-in centers or foster care
Carmen De La Rosa
0:32:45
Great.
0:32:47
I'm gonna ask one more question, and then I'm gonna turn it over to church dinner with this is a multipronged question, but it's about local law 2.
0:32:55
In FY 23, Decast hosted 86 outreach events in compliance with local law 2 as part of the civil service ambassador program.
0:33:02
These events were held across various venues including drop in centers, youth workforce career training programs, adult reentry programs, and other.
0:33:10
How do you prioritize outreach to different civil service pathways?
0:33:14
And is there a focus on a certain demographic or area that is underserved?
Kadian Outar
0:33:19
Thank you.
0:33:20
That is a really good question because there is this need to focus on local law specific events, but also the natural nature of the work that we do, making sure that everyone is getting have access to the information that we share.
0:33:33
So each quarter, we look at the different populations that we need to reach.
0:33:37
We look at the we're also guided by the exam schedule as well as the needs of the city.
0:33:43
So we take into consideration how we can combine events For example, if we need to engage folks that are just as impacted, are there particular opportunities that we can promote, or are there agencies that have a particular need within these programs?
0:33:58
So we try to do that by making sure that we are at least meeting The minimum, though we don't just work on the minimum, but at least we are engaged in the different communities as outlined in the local law, but also based on the needs of the city.
Carmen De La Rosa
0:34:12
In your experience, which one of these venues proved to be the most successful in engaging civil service candidates.
Kadian Outar
0:34:18
Oh, thank you.
0:34:19
I think and it's thank you for recognizing that there's maybe some that are more engaging than others, but I think each of the venues provide are proved successful in its own way.
0:34:30
For example, when we engage with the educational institutions or the community based organizations, the broader ones, we see more engagement.
0:34:38
We see more engagement in terms of participants.
0:34:41
If we do virtual versus in person, this is because the for programs usually have some kind of career development component to it.
0:34:50
So CUNY Schools, their the goal is to get a job afterwards.
0:34:53
The community based programs, they have some kind of workforce element to it.
0:34:58
We do find that it's a bit challenging for when we're engaged in other programs such as the drop in centers or foster care or the mental health.
0:35:08
This is because not all the time that they do have a workforce program, but we do try to work around that challenge because we understand that there is a need to expose this information to folks who may be in those situations, but also may not know that there are opportunities available within city government.
0:35:25
And how they can go about applying for those jobs.
