Service Provider Visits to Employer Workplace
Examples of the methods Service Providers use during workplace visits to gather insights, address challenges, and ensure safety and accommodations.
Business Career Services Illinois
- The BCS team visits employers’ sites to observe operations, understand their unique needs, and develop tailored solutions to address specific challenges.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Deb Lawrence in 2024. This draft content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Cara Collective
- Cara conducts on-site visits to employer workplaces to better understand job environments and align candidate recommendations with employer expectations.
- Their visits include shadowing employees and gathering insights into the day-to-day responsibilities of specific roles, as well as identifying challenges (e.g., cold storage workspaces) that may impact candidate satisfaction or retention.
- Employers occasionally host participant tours to provide hands-on exposure to job roles, which can help to reduce mismatched placements.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Tim Loeffler in 2025. This content was approved by the organization in March 2025.
City Colleges of Chicago
When building relationships with employer partners, Olive-Harvey team members conduct site visits with employers. This provides an opportunity for the employer to familiarize the Olive-Harvey team with the organization’s needs and to demonstrate how a student can fit into the fabric of the organization.
This content is based on interviews and/or email correspondence with Joachim Borha in 2024 and 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
City of Chicago Department of Family and Support Services
- DFSS facilitates limited and informal visits to employer workplaces primarily through delegate agencies to address employer-specific needs.
- DFSS conducts site visits to ensure safety and suitability for youth before establishing partnerships.
- There are mandatory site visits as part of onboarding.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Lisa Hampton, Chadra Lang, and Mark Sanders in 2024. This draft content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development
- On-site visits are used to observe trainings, training provider, and provide support to the business as necessary.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Lijia Evariz in 2024. This content was approved by the organization in March 2025.
Harper College
- The Manager of Workforce Initiatives conducts employer site visits to assess workplace conditions, discuss apprenticeship integration, and maintain relationships.
- Site visits are a routine part of apprenticeship partnerships, with discussions often focused on student progress and program adjustments.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Besa Sadiku in 2024. This draft content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Illinois Division of Rehabilitative Services
- In-person tours are conducted to understand the employer’s environment and workforce needs. During these on-site visits with employers, staff gather specific details on open positions, required qualifications, application processes, available benefits, and reasonable accommodations for applicants. This information is documented in excel spreadsheets.
- Meetings with hiring managers and teams include debriefing sessions and planning next steps.
- Field office staff or job seekers are included in employer workplace visits to provide holistic interactions.
- Recruitment processes are observed to confirm that reasonable accommodations are in place for applicants and employees.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Biswa Phuyal in 2025. This content was approved by the organization in March 2025.
Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities
- Site visits to employer locations are conducted to understand operations and build relationships.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Lauren Hooberman in 2024. This draft content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
National Able Network
- National Able Network conducts required site visits for all subsidized projects with employers. Here is a checklist that is used to gather pertinent information during the visit.
This content is based on interviews and/or email correspondence with Matt Weiss in 2024 and 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Northern Illinois University Workforce Policy Lab
- Specialists are encouraged to visit employers with training providers to offer collaborative solutions.
- Pre-visit research includes reviewing employer job postings to identify potential workforce solutions.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Jennifer Foil in 2025. This draft content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Per Scholas
- Informal site visits are occasionally conducted to observe employer operations and tailor candidate preparation to specific business needs. These visits are not part of a formal process.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Kelsey Briggs-Dineen in 2025. This draft content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Pyramid Partnership Inc
- Staff conduct on-site visits to understand employer operations and workforce environments.
- Meetings with HR teams and managers allow for tailored recruitment solutions.
- Observations during visits help staff identify opportunities to provide additional support, such as accommodations for job seekers.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Kelly Brown in 2024. This draft content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
RiseKit
When initially engaging with employees, RiseKit’s Employer Success team may visit an employer’s location to gain a deeper understanding of a position that is under recruitment and to further establish the relationship with the partner.
This content is based on interviews and/or email correspondence with Josh Glantz in 2024 and 2025. This content was approved by the organization in March 2025.
scaleLIT
- Workforce professionals conduct site visits to understand employer operations and assess alignment of workforce solutions.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Becky Raymond in 2024. This draft content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
World Business Chicago
Points of alignment
This section provides an overview of practices that are similar across organizations.
Point #1
Service Providers typically visit employers’ workplaces to gather insights about the day-to-day responsibilities of specific roles, as well as identify challenges that may impact candidate satisfaction or retention.
Point #2
Many site visits include a job shadowing opportunity, which allows Service Providers to observe operations and develop tailored solutions to address specific challenges.
Point #3
Some organizations require a site visit to an employer’s location during an onboarding period to ensure safety and suitability for job seekers as well as ensuring that reasonable accommodations are in place for job seekers from special populations.
Point #4
Job seekers are occasionally included in employer workplace visits to foster more comprehensive and meaningful interactions.
