In a rapidly changing economy characterized by globalization, advances in technology, and automation, employers are struggling to attract and retain the skilled work they need to grow.

By providing quality jobs that offer family sustaining wages, safe and inclusive environments, robust benefits, predictable scheduling, professional development and opportunities to advance, employers can address their skills gaps, increase the number of qualified applicants to open positions, and improve their retention rates. They can also help improve their company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The information and resources below can help employers learn how to assess and improve the quality of their jobs, and help local stakeholders engage in job quality efforts in Colorado. 
 

Colorado Job Quality Framework     Current Programs & Support     Resources

The Colorado Job Quality Framework

To further the CWDC's mission to enhance and sustain a skills-based talent development network that meets the needs of employers, workers, job seekers, and learners for today and tomorrow, partners in the TalentFOUND network collaborated to produce the Colorado Job Quality Framework, which outlines features of a quality job and lays out practical steps local communities, employers, and leaders can take to improve job quality in Colorado. To learn more about the framework, check out our Colorado Job Quality Framework primer.

Why is job quality important?

Having a full-time job no longer provides the economic security it once did. The average Coloradan earning a minimum wage would need to work a minimum of 71 hours per week to afford a modest one bedroom apartment at fair market rate. Too often, when jobs fail to include basic job quality features, it leads to a cycle of instability among workers that can result in high turnover and declining productivity and exacerbate labor shortages for businesses. 

Quality jobs have been shown to better attract talented workers, reduce turnover costs, and increase employee engagement and productivity while improving a company's operations and profitability. 

For Colorado and local communities, attracting and growing good jobs is critical to our economic vitality and is an essential step towards a stronger, more equitable state that benefits us all.  

What are the features of a good job?

At a minimum, a good job allows for workers to meet basic needs by providing:

• Wages that provide predictable income that covers basic living expenses and allows for wealth building
• Benefits that facilitate a healthy, stable life 
• A schedule that enables workers to balance the other demands of life
• Working conditions offer an environment that promotes physical, emotional, and psychological safety and wellness
• Employers establish transparent growth opportunities to advance along a career pathway and increase pay
• Sense of belonging in an inclusive environment where individuals are accepted and connected to one another

It’s important to keep in mind that job quality occurs on a continuum. There are rarely jobs that are all good or all bad. Rather, there are continuous opportunities to improve job quality features in a way that results in improved quality of life and satisfaction for workers and stronger and more competitive businesses. 

Enhancing the quality features of existing jobs is critical to improving the availability of good jobs in the state. However, focusing on strengthening existing jobs alone will not resolve the good job shortage. Working collaboratively, employers and local communities can rethink how they attract businesses that offer quality jobs by prioritizing job quality in incentive packages and procurement policies.  

Current Programs and Support

The CWDC offers a variety of no-cost programs and assistance to help Colorado businesses measure and improve the quality of their jobs. Additionally, the CWDC provides support to local stakeholders and partners, such as workforce professionals, to engage in job quality efforts. This section will be updated with opportunities as they are made available.

To access previous training materials, please see the Resources section of this page.

Resources

Attracting and growing good jobs is key to building a strong economy and creating opportunity for all Coloradans. The below resources can help employers, workforce professionals, and other stakeholders increase the supply of good jobs in the state, resulting in greater satisfaction for workers and more competitive businesses.
 

For Employers

Workforce Strategies for Small Business Series - Job quality webinar series available on-demand, presented as a collaboration between the Colorado Small Business Development Center (SBDC) network and the CWDC.

• Competitive Hiring & Retention: Looking at wages and benefits that fit your budget
• Growth Opportunities: From apprentice to manager, prep your business to retain and promote your team
• Workforce Belonging: Enhance engagement to increase profitability 

Job Quality Checklist for Employers - A list of actions that employers can take to improve the quality of their jobs in four categories: recruitment and hiring, wages and benefits, growth opportunities, and working conditions and belonging. 

CWDC and WorkLife Partnership Webinars

• Keynote: Capitalism and Job Quality (Damien Dwin, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lafayette Square with Liddy Romero)
• Job Quality: An Employer’s Perspective and Practice (Liddy Romero; Anthony Lambatas, Footers Catering; Jill Wright, Executive Shine; Peter Hancock, Professional Employment Group)

For Workforce Professionals

Integrating Job Quality and Equity Into Business Services - This training helps business services staff to explore approaches to integrating job quality and equity into their core business services approaches.

• Session 1 - The What and Why of Job Quality: View Recording and Slides 
• Session 2 - Assessing the Quality of Jobs in your Local Labor Market and Adopting a Local Job Quality Strategy: View Recording and Slides
• Session 3 - Talking to Businesses About How Job Quality Impacts Current and Future Workers: View Recording and Slides
• Session 4 - Equipping Employers with Insights into the Worker Experience: View Recording and Slides

Job Quality Checklist for Employers - A list of actions that employers can take to improve the quality of their jobs in four categories: recruitment and hiring, wages and benefits, growth opportunities, and working conditions and belonging. 

Job Quality Checklist for Workers - A list of actions that workers should consider to improve the quality of their jobs in four categories: recruitment and hiring, wages and benefits, growth opportunities, and working conditions and belonging. 

Coming soon: Hierarchy of Job Quality

Coming soon: Business questionnaire

Coming soon: Using Chmura Job EQ to Assess Local Area Job Quality

Apprenticeship Information - Apprenticeship is an industry-driven, high-quality career pathway where employers can develop and prepare their future workforce, and individuals can obtain paid work experience, classroom instruction, and a portable, nationally-recognized credential.

For Workers

Job Quality Checklist for Workers - A list of actions that workers should consider to improve the quality of their jobs in four categories: recruitment and hiring, wages and benefits, growth opportunities, and working conditions and belonging. 

General Resources

USDOL Job Quality Initiative -  The Good Jobs Initiative, led by the U.S. Department of Labor, is focused on providing critical information to workers, employers, and government as they work to improve job quality and create access to good jobs free from discrimination and harassment for all working people. ​

Results for America Job Quality Playbook - The Job Quality Playbook is a guide for workforce and economic development agencies to learn more about why job quality matters, what components make a good job and how to support both employers and workers. The tool guides users in changes to program delivery, business partnership approaches and internal processes to drive transformation.

Aspen Institute Job Quality Tools Library - The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program developed this Job Quality Tools Library to support leaders working in a variety of fields related to economic opportunity to engage in practical action to improve jobs. The library offers tools, resources, and guidance to help leaders adopt practices to strengthen job quality in their own organizations, in the businesses they partner with, and across labor markets.

Good Jobs Institute - The mission of the Good Jobs Institute is to help companies thrive by creating good jobs and to redefine what it means to run a successful business. Their goal is to help and learn from business leaders who want to improve the jobs and lives of their employees in a way that improves performance and competitiveness of their companies.

Success Stories

Business Solutions for Training and Supporting Frontline Employees - This compilation of case studies highlights six Colorado retail and hospitality businesses and how they implement upskilling to improve employee retention, facilitate career advancement, attract new talent, and increase customer satisfaction. 

Implementing Job Quality: FirstLight Home Care, Boulder - FirstLight Home Care entered the CWDC’s Good Jobs Pilot to improve their recruitment and retention of quality workers and increase employee engagement.

Advancing Job Quality - Color Me Mine Colorado Springs - A focus on job quality helps bring a Colorado Springs art studio out of the pandemic.