EDGE Employment Solutions – Evaluations and Testimonials

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EDGE EMPLOYMENT SOLUTIONS enables people with disability to establish careers in open employment that are of mutual benefit to the employee, employer and the community.

ALL PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY have a right to work in open employment regardless of the extent or severity of their disability.

ALL WORKERS WITH DISABILITY have a right to a fair day’s pay as have the employers a right to a fair day’s work.

JOB SEEKERS AND WORKERS must play a central role in planning their own careers.

THE PROMOTION OF JOB SEEKERS with disability for any vacancy must focus on their abilities and economic worth to the employer.

ON-THE-JOB SUPPORT AND CO-WORKER MENTORING are key strategies for equipping workers with the full range of skills necessary to succeed in their chosen careers.

KEY CONTRIBUTORS to a successful career are desire to work, support from significant others, realistic career choice and access to individualised support.

JOB SEEKERS AND WORKERS have a right to privacy, respect and freedom from abuse in all their dealings with the agency.

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Three independent evaluations of EDGE Employment Solutions have been conducted by the Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDHR) at Edith Cowan University, Vermont Consulting, and the Small to Medium Enterprise Research Centre (SMERC), respectively. These findings are summarised below.

EDGE is a "can do" agency, according to the CDHR evaluation. "There was considerable flexibility seen in the methods to solve problems, together with an impressive willingness to think laterally…The agency frequently looked outside for ideas and directions (and) continually adapted new ideas and strategies from outside. The team felt that this outside orientation was one of the key factors in the agency's maintenance of a position as a leader in the field." The SMERC evaluation commented that the agency's "leadership talents are shared in the community. The company is seen as an innovative organisation in the disability industry..."

The CDHR evaluation commended EDGE for its "clear and explicit values base". The agency "held positive opinions about the service users, valued them as individuals and were enthusiastic about presenting them very positively to employers and co-workers. The team thought the values that permeated the agency were a very positive influence on service quality."

The SMERC evaluation commented that "the way the organisation operates and the drive of all employees is rather impressive. The culture and atmosphere is unique and probably rare and seldom easy to develop."

The Edith Cowan University evaluation considered that EDGE's "expert Board filled a strong role in the agency by providing accountability, expertise in the business area, a progressive, innovative direction and valuable links into the business sector. EDGE looks and feels like a well-run business…there is a focus on professionalism, service and business-like image."

The SMERC evaluation found that the Board "is a powerful driving force behind the professional and business approach of EDGE. It consists of well known business and professional people who run EDGE as a business and not as a charitable institution."

The CDHR evaluation noted that EDGE "provided a personalised service to all of its people in jobs". The evaluation found that "job support and job search personnel would discuss individuals in a way that indicated they had an appreciation of their talents and strengths and had a personal knowledge that went considerably beyond work related characteristics". This focus on individuals was considered in the evaluation as being a major contributor to the quality of the service for workers and to the overall success of the agency.

The Vermont Consulting evaluation found that EDGE was the only employment agency in its Australia-wide survey that provided support to people with disability at an hourly rate that was lower than the Commonwealth Government allocation. People with disability were being supported at a cost to the taxpayer of only $18.48 per support hour.

The Vermont Consulting evaluation calculated that every dollar the taxpayer invests in EDGE generates three times that amount in earnings for a person with a disability. In addition, the worker pays taxes, thus returning that investment. For every dollar that the taxpayer invests in EDGE, they receive two dollars in return from saved pensions and subsidy payments.

EDGE was rated the most efficient & cost-effective of all large metropolitan employment agencies supporting people with disability in Australia in a government-funded survey conducted by Simpson Norris Consultants.

EDGE was rated amongst the top three employment providers in Australia at the 2007 Prime Minister’s Employer of the Year awards.

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