*"As we invest in critical job training, we are giving workers the
bargaining power they need to custom-design their jobs around their
lives---instead of the other way around."*

---Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao

June 2005

The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), an agency of the U.S.
Department of Labor, is committed to improving employment outcomes for
individuals with disabilities. To achieve this goal, ODEP established a
Customized Employment initiative to build the capacity of workforce
systems to serve all customers, including individuals with disabilities.
The strategies developed through this initiative can assist all
workforce customers who have complex needs and may require more
individual assistance to achieve their employment goals. The Customized
Employment initiative also focuses on incorporating universal strategies
into all aspects of workforce services.

Customized Employment: A New Competitive Edge

Customized Employment offers the chance for a job to fit who\
we are, what we need, and what we have to offer. It provides an avenue
to employment for any job seeker who feels that traditional job search
methods do not meet their needs.

Customized Employment means individualizing the relationship between job
seekers and employers in ways that meet the needs of both. It is based
on an individualized determination of the strengths, requirements, and
interests of a person with a complex life. The process is designed to
meet the workplace needs of the employer and the discrete tasks of the
position. When a customized relationship is developed, a shared
employment alliance results.

Why Consider the Customized Employment Approach?\
\
Customized Employment can provide an advantage for job seekers who
struggle in the competitive job market. It is particularly useful for
those who have barriers to employment such as limited skills or
education, inadequate childcare or transportation resources,
disabilities, or cultural or language differences. Customized employment
can work for anyone with a complex life.

Everyone Customizes...

Job seekers routinely consider the work environment, employer
characteristics, and other conditions they prefer. Most employees, soon
after landing a job, begin to customize their jobs based on personal
preferences, contributions, or strengths. Customized Employment starts
this process with up-front negotiations between job seekers and
employers and may include more significant modifications to the
employer's work expectations.

A \"Win-Win\" Situation

Because the relationship between job seekers and employers is
individualized and voluntarily negotiated, opportunities can be created
that benefit both parties. This approach gives an advantage to the
customized job seeker over other applicants, since that person uniquely
fits the position. At the same time, the employer gains the best
possible person to meet the company\'s needs.

Take a Closer Look

Successful Customized Employment opportunities are built on four key
elements:

1.Meeting the job seeker\'s individual needs and interests.

2.Using a personal representative to assist and potentially represent
the individual. This can be a counselor, job developer, advocate,
employment specialist, or other qualified professional.

3.Negotiating successfully with employers.

4.Building a system of ongoing supports for the job seeker.

1\. Individualization

The job seeker drives the Customized Employment process. Together with
the personal representative, the job seeker creates a customized plan
based on their life experiences, goals, interests, and abilities. This
plan is used as the blueprint to identify employer opportunities and
create a proposal for a potential employer.

2\. Representation

Personal representatives, such as those mentioned earlier, can represent
the job seeker when customizing employment opportunities. However, this
does not mean that they are the decision-makers. Personal
representatives need to consider the following components from the job
seeker\'s perspective: preferences and interests, the contributions the
job seeker can make, tasks to be performed, and potential employers. If
the job seeker needs ongoing or intensive supports to succeed on the
job, personal representatives can play a key role in accessing those
supports. They can also assist with negotiation. Not all individuals
will choose to have such representation, but some may require assistance
behind the scenes in planning for the negotiation process.

**More Than Just a Good Fit**

**Creating a good fit between job seeker and employer is an essential
component of customized employment, but true customization requires
negotiating job responsibilities as well as employer expectations.**

3\. Negotiation

Customized Employment requires meeting specific employers, getting to
know them, and learning about their staffing needs. Through this
process, the personal representative and job seeker determine whether
there is the potential for a Customized Employment relationship and
determine negotiation points. The job seeker and the personal
representative then develop a proposal that demonstrates how the job
seeker can meet the employer\'s needs, resulting in value for the
employer. The negotiation and agreement to hire a person for a
Customized Employment situation are voluntary for both the job seeker
and the employer, and should result in a mutually beneficial outcome.

4\. Ongoing Supports

Customized Employment opportunities include the expectation that
accommodations and supports will be available to the job seeker and the
employer as necessary. Supports can include (but are not limited to)
benefits counseling, personal assistance, transportation coordination
and assistance, and adaptive equipment. These supports should be
individualized and flexible to reflect the unique needs of both the job
seeker and employer.

**Customized Employment Success Story**

A large commercial real estate business decreased the time it took to
complete transactions by restructuring administrative support to manage
a central filing room. Specific administrative support tasks were
identified and assigned to José, a job seeker with a disability. The job
was customized to align with his skills and his interest in an office
job. His job duties included delivering packages and faxes, creating
files for property submissions, routing submissions to the appropriate
account manager, collating packets, and selected filing. This allowed
other, more detailed administrative tasks to be performed by co-workers.
As a result, real estate transactions were accomplished much more
quickly, the volume of transactions increased, and the business began
making more money on each of its real estate transactions.

Customized Employment: Principles and Indicators

Customized Employment is the voluntary negotiation of a personalized
employment relationship between a specific individual and an employer
that fulfills the business needs of the employer. The negotiation
process addresses areas such as job duties, terms of employment,
services and supports necessary to carry out the job duties, and
expectations adapted to the needs or special circumstances of one
particular job seeker.

Customized Employment strategies result in individually designed
services, supports, and jobs negotiated to fit the needs of a specific
job seeker or employee. These strategies may include aspects of other
employment approaches, such as:

• Supported employment services

• Supported entrepreneurship services, microenterprises, or small
businesses

• Individualized job development

• Job carving and restructuring

• The development of microboards

Customized Employment Strategies

The Customized Employment process is not a single strategy, service, or
support but rather a flexible blend of strategies, services, and
supports designed to increase employment options for job seekers with
complex needs through voluntary negotiation of the employment
relationship. Customized Employment can be useful for all job seekers,
including those without disabilities, who have unique circumstances
affecting employment. It builds on proven principles, services and
supports, and strategies---such as supported employment---that have
resulted in success for job seekers with complex needs. It is
appropriate for job seekers and existing employees whose changing
circumstances require negotiation to customize employment tasks,
expectations, or working conditions.

Customized Employment Principles\
*The following principles are fundamental to Customized Employment.*

• The employer voluntarily negotiates specific job duties or employee
expectations.

• The negotiated employment relationship meets both the unique needs,
strengths, and interests of the job seeker or employee and the discrete
needs of the employer.

• The job seeker is the primary source of information and decides the
direction in which to explore the job market.

• The job seeker controls the planning process that captures their
preferences, interests, and connections in the community.

• Even prior to planning, exploratory time is essential to uncover the
job seeker\'s unique needs, abilities, and interests. More formal or
traditional assessment may supplement this exploratory phase if
necessary, but it should not be used as the primary source of
information for planning.

• Customized Employment results in jobs that fit the individual and
therefore have the potential for advancement for job seekers who have
been chronically unemployed or underemployed.

> The following fundamental principles are shared by Customized
> Employment and other employment processes.

• Work occurs in an integrated, individualized work situation in the
community or in a personal business alongside people who do not have
disabilities.

• Employment results in pay at the prevailing wage or "going rate."

• Employment outcomes may include creating a job through
self-employment.

• The job or business outcomes must be individualized -- one person at a
time -- with no grouping of persons unless they are co-owners of a
business venture.

• The process is facilitated through a blend of services, supports, and
resources that include the workforce system and other public and private
partners such as disability service providers. These resources are
coordinated to meet the job seeker\'s needs.

Customized Employment can be used either prior to or after employment as
a strategy to modify job duties and/or other employer expectations for
an individual who has complex needs.

Customized Employment Indicators

> The following indicators must be present in order for a process to be
> considered Customized Employment.

• As a result of Customized Employment, the employee has a personalized
job description and/or other employer expectations that did not exist
prior to the negotiation process.

• The individual makes a tangible contribution to the employer's
enterprise.

• The individual is hired and paid directly by the employer.

• Customized Employment offers the opportunity for personal
representation by a job developer, as appropriate, to assist the job
seeker in negotiating with employers.

• Customized Employment is based on an array of strategies that allow
job duties to be tailored to satisfy both job seeker and employer needs.

• Personal budgets, individual training accounts, and other forms of
individualized funding that provide choice and control to the person and
promote self-determination are used in Customized Employment.

• All individually designed services and supports needed by the job
seeker for success are offered by the employer, the workforce system,
and/or funders of services.

Job Seeker Exploration

Customized planning is critical to negotiating a Customized Employment
relationship. But before the planning begins, exploratory time is needed
to understand the job seeker\'s dreams, goals, personal preferences,
life experiences, and the needs they express. This exploration is also
critical to identifing the complexities that the job seeker brings to
potential employment relationships. Formal testing and evaluation may be
used as a supplement to this exploration when specific information is
needed to complete the picture.

Self-Exploration, Shared Exploration, Facilitated Exploration: Options
for All Job Seekers

Exploration can be accomplished in a number of ways, depending on the
needs and preferences of the job seeker. Many job seekers will wish to
engage in a process of self-exploration, often facilitated by others,
that involves answering questions, reflecting on ideas and past
experiences, and identifying personal issues and challenges. Other job
seekers may wish to participate in a peer group such as a job club or
other group in which members assist each other in shared exploration.
Still other job seekers, especially those with significant complexities,
will benefit from facilitated discovery, a process in which an
employment professional, family member, or friend spends the time
necessary to understand the applicant's strengths, needs, and
preferences. This range of possible approaches to exploration is
critical to ensure true customization for each job seeker.

The Place to Start: Who Is This Applicant?

Discovering a job seeker\'s strengths and uncovering their
employment-related goals and experiences is the place to start.
Assisting the job seeker to explore answers to the following key
questions will help guide the process.

• What life experiences have I had?

• What are my strengths, interests, and preferences?

• What do I have to offer to an employer?

• What is important to me in a job?

• What motivates me to work?

• What supports will I need to be successful?

But exploration involves much more than simply asking job seekers about
their issues. Exploration also involves spending time with applicants
and interviewing friends, family, and colleagues, recommended by the job
seeker, who have positive information to share. It is critical that the
life circumstances of the job seeker be understood through observation
and participation as well as conversation. Adequate time to explore and
understand the answers to these questions lays the groundwork for the
customized planning process to follow.

Targeting Tasks and Other Potential Contributions

During exploration, tasks, skills, and other potential contributions can
be observed and discussed with the job seeker. This Task List is a
critically important component of the customized plan and employer
negotiations that targets specific duties of the applicant's customized
job description.

Exploration and Employment Supports

Employment supports are the formal and informal activities at a job that
enable people to successfully complete their work. Employment supports
can be both internal and external to the job. The customized planning
process needs to consider what, if any, employment supports that
individual may need. Exploration provides the information necessary to
plan for the employment supports that might be needed for success.

The Individual Profile

The information obtained during exploration needs to be documented to
account for the various activities used to get to know the job seeker.
There are numerous strategies---including profiles, portfolios, and
other creative means---to capture the body of information that will be
used as the basis for the customized planning process.

**How Family, Friends, and Personal Representatives Can Help**

**• Job seekers will often use a personal representative to help them
plan. The personal representative\'s role is to learn about the job
seeker---not to presume information, diagnose, or test and compare the
applicant with others.**

**• People who really know the job seeker can help to fully explore
interests, skills, and dreams.**

• Information from a wide variety of sources, such as those found at
One-Stop Career Centers, is also often part of exploration. These
resources can provide useful information about potential directions to
employment and a perspective on the job seeker that might be otherwise
overlooked.

Creating a Blueprint for Job Development

Customized Employment is based on an individualized determination of a
person\'s strengths, requirements, and interests. As such, the process
requires time for exploration and planning prior to negotiating an
employment relationship. Through a process of exploration, job seekers
express their dreams, goals, personal preferences, life experiences, and
needs. The next step is a customized planning process, resulting in an
individualized career profile that:

• Details the applicant\'s strengths, needs, and interests.

• Develops a "Task List" proposal for potential employers.

• Directs the development of a Customized Employment relationship with
employers.

• Identifies potential employers to be contacted.

• Outlines the supports necessary for employment to be successful.

Customized Employment planning is distinct from many other planning
approaches in that the issue of job development is discussed and
detailed within the plan, rather than being handled simply through the
relationships and contacts of a job developer. Information used during
plan development is based on the information discovered by and with the
applicant.

Features of Customized Planning:

1\. The job seeker is fully involved in the planning process, decides
who will participate, and directs their own blueprint for job
development.

2\. The plan should be developed with the job seeker\'s vision of their
interests and career goals as the primary focus, as determined through
exploration.

3\. The focus is on the job seeker's preferences, talents, life
experiences, and dreams, rather than their challenges or limitations.

4\. Family, friends, and natural social networks serve as a secondary
source of input, opinions, and support. The job seeker is always the
primary source of information.

5\. Concerns and complexities are considered solvable through
negotiation and support, and must not become reasons to rule out career
options.

6.  The planning process always focuses on obtaining community-based,
    integrated employment that pays a competitive wage.

A Customized Blueprint for Employment

The Customized Employment plan results in a document that serves as a
blueprint for the job search. It must:

• Clearly represent the job seeker's talents and potential
contributions, including a Task List.

• Outline the applicant's strengths, needs, and interests as the basis
of the "blueprint."

• Identify specific employers to be contacted, including relationships
and connections to those employers as well as their potential task
needs.

• Address the supports necessary to obtain and maintain employment.

This information can be presented to prospective employers as a proposal
or portfolio of the job seeker's accomplishments and interests. It can
also be included in the applicant's resume.

Customized Planning and Job Site Supports

One principle of Customized Employment is making employment supports
available that are developed from the customized planning process and
noted in the blueprint. Employment supports help the job seeker prepare
for, get to, and be successful at work. The type of supports and the
methods used to provide supports will be unique to each Customized
Employment position and business.

When designing support strategies for Customized Employment, it is
important to consider the following strategies:

1\. Use what is already in the workplace.

2\. Adapt what is in the workplace.

3.  Supplement what is in the workplace.

**Customized Employment Success Story**

During the planning process, Maria stated her dream of working in the
theater. Her personal representative found a theater company that hired
expensive temporary personnel to meet seasonal work fluctuations. The
personal representative negotiated the creation of an administrative
clerk job that would float between departments, ending the need to hire
temporary staff. This saved money for the company and gave the job
seeker the opportunity to work in her area of interest.

Negotiating with Employers

An essential element in Customized Employment is negotiating job duties
or employee expectations to align the skills and interests of a job
seeker with a disability to an employer\'s needs. This negotiation
results in a job description that describes a customized relationship
between employer and employee. Rather than trying to sell employers on
the concept of hiring people with disabilities, it is better to appeal
directly to the employers' needs. The goal is to negotiate Customized
Employment options that benefit both the employer and the job seeker.

Where to Start?

**Get to know the person.** Customized Employment starts with an
applicant exploration process that leads to an employment plan based on
the job seeker\'s customized planning process. (See the "Job Seeker
Exploration" and "Creating a Blueprint\" fact sheets.) The customized
planning process also identifies potential employers for job development
negotiation.

**Get to know employers.** The employers to become familiar with include
those identified by the job seeker during the customized planning
process. Once identified, arrange informational interviews---not to sell
the business on your services or a particular job seeker, but to learn
about the business and how it works.

**Find negotiation points.** After learning about specific businesses,
figure out how they can benefit from your services and the job seeker
you represent.

Identify Employers

As a resource for planning, an initial survey of potential employers
should be broad and include any employer who might potentially fit the
job seeker. The job seeker\'s plan should then drive the process of
identifying specific employers. Additional suggestions can come from:

• The job seeker---ask about employers they know

• The job seeker\'s family, friends, and neighbors

• Local business publications and the business section of the paper

• Local business associations such as the Chamber of Commerce

• The personal representative's own contacts

Get Your Foot in the Door

Once you have researched area businesses, a good way to learn about them
is to visit for informational interviews. Ask how the business operates
and what its staffing needs are. Informational interviews are chances to
**attract employer interest** in Customized Employment.

It is also possible to directly solicit specific employers, identified
during the planning meeting, who are called upon for the purpose of
convincing them to consider hiring the job seeker. Such solicitations
need to include a proposal that balances the two issues described above:
a) the needs of the employer and b) the potential contributions of the
applicant. Regardless of which approach job developers use, successful
customized employment requires successful negotiation. The following
strategies will assist in negotiating with employers.

Find Negotiation Points

Once you have become acquainted with an employer and their needs, look
for ways in which your service and the job seeker you represent can
benefit the business by improving operations or increasing profits.

Negotiation points may include:

• The responsibilities of the position as listed in the job description

• The time, hours, and location for the job in question

• The support strategies and supervision the job seeker will need

• Productivity and outcome expectations

Such negotiation points are defined by job seeker and employer
preferences.

Present the Proposal

The goal of the customized planning process is to identify a set of
tasks the job seeker can perform. Using those tasks and the employer
research, the job seeker and the personal representative build a
proposal to present to the potential employer.

The preliminary proposal describes the job seeker\'s skills and how they
will benefit the employer. The employer may accept the proposal, suggest
modifications to it, or reject it. If the original proposal is not
accepted, the discussion can lead to a revised proposal that satisfies
both the employer and the job seeker.

Employer participation in this process is always voluntary. The
willingness to customize a job description is a decision on the
employer's part, not a legal requirement.

Options to Customize a Job Description

• **Job carving.** A job description is created by modifying an existing
job description. The carved job description contains one or more, but
not all, of the tasks from the original job description.

• **Negotiating a job description.** The job seeker and the personal
representative pick from all the tasks performed at the workplace to
create a new, individualized job description.

• **Job creation.** A newly created job description is negotiated based
on unmet workplace needs.

• **Job sharing.** Two or more people share the tasks and
responsibilities of a job based on each other's strengths.

**Customized Employment Success Story**

A large department store hired Scott, a job seeker with a disability,
after several informational visits by his personal representative,
Shaina, who negotiated a new way for the store to handle merchandise
delivery. Originally, store clerks unloaded and repackaged new
merchandise. Shaina suggested that the job seeker perform this task.
This customized job freed the clerks to spend more time serving
customers. As a result, sales increased.

Negotiate for Employer Gain

The job seeker and the personal representative need to be prepared to
show how the proposal will help an employer improve operations. This is
probably your most important bargaining point when a job seeker with a
disability might need unusual or extensive accommodations or supports.
Some of the best customized employment opportunities are created when
options for employer gain are targeted. Focus the customized job
description on the contribution to the employer, not competition with
other job seekers.

Employers gain when:

• Work gets done faster or more precisely

• Employees become more productive

• Profit increases

• Work can be reorganized to flow better

• Overburdened employees can be relieved

• Operations become more efficient

When the business sees potential gain, it is ready to consider hiring a
job seeker who might require changes in the workplace.

**Informational Interview Pointers**

> **• Ask to meet with a knowledgeable person in the business.**
>
> **• Make the meeting request easy to fulfill. Say, "I'd like to find
> out more about your business so I can better understand the human
> resource needs in your industry,\" or "I'm really interested in
> \[industry type\]. Is it possible for me to briefly visit and get more
> information?"**
>
> **• Be prepared: Research the business thoroughly, and prepare
> questions for the meeting. How does the work get done? What are some
> of the biggest staffing challenges?**
>
> **• Indicate an interest in understanding the business\'s staffing
> needs and that you may be able to meet them.**
>
> **• Keep it short. Respect the employer's time---15 to 20 minutes
> should be more than enough.**

• Thank the employer for their time. When you get back to your office,
send a written thank-you note.

**Information for these fact sheets came from:**

> The National Center on Workforce and Disability/Adult (NCWD/A);
> Michael Callahan of Marc Gold & Associates/EfA (micallahan@aol.com);
> Richard Luecking of TransCen, Inc. (rluecking@transcen.org) and the
> Office of Disability Employment Policy at the U.S. Department of
> Labor.

**For additional information on Customized Employment, contact:**

> **Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor**
>
> Voice: 1.866.633.7365
>
> TTY: 1.877.889.5627
>
> Fax: 1.202.693.7888
>
> www.dol.gov/odep
>
> or
>
> **NCWD/A**
>
> Voice: 617.287.4365
>
> TTY: 617.287.4350

sheila.fesko@umb.edu