Employment and Community First CHOICES Workforce QuILTSS Initiative Survey 2019: Year Two Report
Change Over Time
There were 39 organizations that participated in both the 2018 survey (year 1) and the 2019 survey (year 2). Data were analyzed to examine whether turnover, vacancy rates, and hourly wages (starting, average, and highest) changed significantly from year 1 to year 2. Organizations who completed the 2018 survey in year 1 were invited to attend a 2-day workshop about understanding their data and selecting workforce interventions. The organizations who attended the 2-day workshop were then able to receive individual consultation from staff at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration. They were also invited to attend webinars about workforce interventions. The assumption at the beginning of the project was that turnover and vacancy rates would decrease and wages would increase after this intervention.
Two limitations make interpretation of the results difficult. First, the underlying assumption of a study looking at change over time is that conditions remain the same, including the measurement tool. The survey was reduced in length and a few new items were added after the first year, which is not uncommon. However, the survey was completely reformatted. The order of items, the format of some items, and the overall survey format were changed. Second, the 2-day Understanding Your Data workshop occurred mid-September 2019. The individual consultations did not begin until November 2019, and not all organizations had their first individual consultation before the end of 2019. Though webinars were key components of the intervention, they were not scheduled to begin until January 2020.
Therefore, due to the lack of consistent measurement tools from year 1 to year 2 and the later delivery of the intervention, any statistically significant results cannot be directly connected to the intervention. Significant increases or decreases may be due to the intervention, but they also may be due to the change in format of the survey. The change in the format may have made the experience better or worse. We simply do not know.
Lastly, samples were too small to do analyses by region.
DSP Turnover (Crude Separation Rate)
Figure 15. DSP turnover over time
For the 33 organizations who completed both the 2018 survey (year 1) and the 2019 survey (year 2), turnover in the last 12 months stayed about the same at 48% (see Figure 15). This difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.967). Of the 21 organizations who reported on full-time DSPs, turnover for full-time DSPs in the last 12 months decreased from 49% in year 1 to 39% in year 2. While this appears to be a big decrease, it was not significantly lower than the average turnover for full-time DSPs in year 1. For the 18 organizations who reported on part-time DSPs, turnover increased from 50% in year 1 to 57% in year 2. While this appears to be a big increase, it was not significantly higher than the average turnover for part-time DSPs in year 1.
DSP Vacancy Rate
Figure 16. Vacancy rates for DSPs over time
As seen in Figure 16, for the 33 organizations who reported on vacancy rates at both time points, vacancy rates in the last 12 months decreased from 15% in year 1 to 12% in year 2. This decrease was not significantly lower than average turnover for all DSPs in year 1. For the 24 organizations who reported on full-time DSPs, vacancy rates for full-time DSPs remained at about 13% from year 1 to year 2. For the 20 organizations who reported on part-time DSPs, vacancy rates for part-time DSPs decreased from 19% in year 1 to 15% in year 2. This decrease was not significantly lower than average vacancy rates for part-time DSPs in year 1.
DSP Wages
Organizations provided data on wages for all of their DSPs, their part-time DSPs, and their full-time DSPs. The average starting wages for DSPs from 2018 (year 1) and 2019 (year 2) are shown in Figure 17.
Figure 17. DSP starting wages over time
As seen in Figure 17, for all DSPs across 38 organizations, starting hourly wages increased from $9.29 in year 1 to $9.66 in year 2. Overall, DSPs were paid $0.37 more per hour for starting hourly wages in year 2, which is statistically significant. For full-time DSPs across 28 organizations, starting hourly wages increased from $9.24 in year 1 to $9.69 in year 2. On average, full-time DSPs were paid $0.45 more per hour for starting hourly wages in year 2, which is statistically significant. For part-time DSPs across 28 organizations, starting hourly wages increased from $9.23 in year 1 to $9.58 in year 2. On average, part-time DSPs were paid $0.36 more per hour for starting hourly wages in year 2, which is statistically significant.
Figure 18. DSP average wages over time
As seen in Figure 18, for the 24 organizations who reported on average wages in year 1 and year 2, DSP average hourly wages were higher in year 2 ($10.32) than year 1 ($9.95). While DSPs in year 2 were paid $0.37 more per hour for average hourly wages, this increase was not significantly higher than average hourly wages for all DSPs in year 1. For full-time DSPs across 16 organizations, average hourly wages increased from $9.94 in year 1 to $10.11 in year 2. While full-time DSPs were paid $0.17 more per hour in year 2, this increase was not significantly higher than average hourly wages for full-time DSPs in year 1. For part-time DSPs across 16 organizations, average hourly wages increased from $9.73 in year 1 to $9.99 in year 2. While part-time DSPs were paid $0.26 more per hour in year 2, this increase was not significantly higher than the average hourly wages for part-time DSPs in year 1.
Figure 19. DSP highest wages over time
The average highest hourly wage for DSPs from 2018 (year 1) to 2019 (year 2) is shown in Figure 19. The average highest wages across 23 organizations increased from $12.09 in year 1 to $13.60 in year 2. DSPs were paid $1.50 more per hour for the highest hourly wages in year 2, which is statistically significant. For full-time DSPs across 16 organizations, the average highest hourly wages increased from $12.18 in year 1 to $12.28 in year 2. While full-time DSPs were paid $0.09 more per hour, this increase was not significantly higher than the average highest hourly wages for full-time DSPs in year 1. For part-time DSPs across 15 organizations, the average highest hourly wages increased from $10.29 in year 1 to $11.38 in year 2. Part-time DSPs were paid $1.09 more per hour for average highest hourly wages in year 2, which is statistically significant.