Enhancing Customer Experience in Workforce Development: Strategies for Success  

In today's landscape, the success of workforce development programs is directly tied to the satisfaction and engagement of its participants. This discussion will provide insights, strategies, and success stories on creating a customer-centric approach and how it can be replicated into the workforce development sector. 

Topics will include: 

• Creating a Customer-Centric Approach
• Gaining Organizational Buy-In
• Continuous Improvement 
• Measuring Success Beyond Metrics

Speaker- 

Tonya Webster

Ms. Tonya Webster is the first ever Chief Customer Experience Officer in the Nation. She develops and leads the execution of a statewide customer experience strategy; collaborating with agency leaders to identify process improvements and set achievable data-driven goals; expand the state’s capacity for human-centered design by growing its teams of user researchers, designers and digital professionals; and ensure that customer experience principles are embedded into the state’s technology roadmap.

Ms. Webster's appointment last year builds on a number of ongoing initiatives centered around customer experience within New York State government, including improving the enrollment and shopping experience for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC); accelerating and improving access to important tax credits, including a new free tax filing tool for eligible New Yorkers; expanding access to childcare assistance; speeding up the launch of improved communication platforms designed to make interacting with State agencies simpler and more efficient; and expanding the state’s teams of user researchers, designers and digital professionals to ensure that online transactions are user-friendly, understandable, accessible and adequately serving New Yorkers.

Ms. Webster has more than 20 years of experience leading customer experience transformations across the private sector. She most recently served as Senior Vice President of Service for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and the former CXO for the health plan. Prior to her role with Blue Cross Blue Shield, Tonya was the Vice President of Customer Experience for Comcast NBC/Universal, where she dramatically improved customer satisfaction and service. Webster will report to Kathryn Garcia, the Director of State Operations and Infrastructure.

Elevating Neurodivergent Talent: Inclusion and Support in the Workplace

​Creating career paths for the youth workforce is essential in providing young people with the skills and opportunities they need to succeed. ​​Promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in these career paths is also important to ensure equal opportunities for all youth, regardless of their backgrounds.​

​​Identifying techniques to engage young people is critical to address the skills gap, supporting local economies, and creating a more vibrant and diverse workforce for the future.​ ​Join us for a panel discussion amongst workforce development professionals that work with youth as they discuss:

• Tools and resources
• Engaging youth that are not enrolled in school
• Innovative programming
• Community collaboration

Panelist - Coming Soon