Measuring Soft Outcomes

OSW's aim is to support individuals to move towards employability. Employability is about developing a range of skills and competencies to connect with the labour market.

A client's movement towards employability can be measured using soft outcomes (also known as soft indicators). Soft outcomes are the range of personal achievements, changes or benefits which can happen as a result of service intervention. They can include, for example, positive development in confidence or motivation, or improvements in basic skills, such as literacy and numeracy. Soft outcomes are personal, and will depend on the individual client's needs.

Soft outcomes can be seen as complementing or contributing towards eventual hard outcomes, such as attainment of jobs or qualifications, but they are harder to quantify than hard outcomes. In order to be able to measure the achievement of soft outcomes OSW has therefore developed The Employability Map.

What Is The Employability Map?

The Employability Map replaces an earlier soft indicator measurement tool, the Individual Progression System (IPS), which was used by OSW between 2000 and 2004. The Employability Map was developed from a pilot project in which 11 different services and over 100 clients participated, and is in full use by OSW services as of January 2005. Its main aims are to:

• Help clients think about where they are on their journey towards work or further training
• Enable service providers to support individuals on that journey, by looking at how their position on the map changes over time
• Help OSW to show others that our services make a difference

How Does The Employability Map Work?

The Employability Map consists of a form covering five areas, each graded with a scale. Each scale is divided into three zones, indicating the level of support required by the client in that area. The five areas are:

• Motivation/sense of direction
• Lifestyle
• Readiness for work
• Basic skills
• Skills for finding work

In order to complete the form the client and project worker decide together which zone the client falls into on each scale, and then where in the zone they are. The form comes with a detailed description of what kind of behaviours each of the points on the scale represent, to make the process as objective as possible.

The Employability Map form is used in conjunction with services' existing programmes of assessment, action planning and client review. Over time the client should complete a number of forms, so that a picture can develop of how they have progressed in each of the specified areas.

OSW services record and analyse Employability Map forms using our client monitoring database, OSW Link.

Who Uses The Employability Map?

All OSW-funded services use The Employability Map as part of their day to day work with their clients. The system is currently not available for use outside of the OSW network.