Citigroup

Citigroup is committed to the success of welfare-to-work programs, both as a matter of public policy and as a good business practice. Through relationships with organizations such as the Wildcat Service Corporation and partnerships with government programs, Citigroup has hired hundreds of former welfare recipients and placed them in full-time jobs across the United States. In addition, through the Citigroup Foundation we have given more than $5.7 million to organizations in 28 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands for employment assistance and job training programs and to help former welfare recipients find and keep full-time employment.

Promoting self-sufficiency through a variety of financial education programs is fundamental to Citigroup’s approach to welfare-to-work. We also invest a great deal of time in training programs that help individuals adapt to the workplace and to our specific systems and processes. We don’t view this commitment as charity. We see it as good business. In addition to helping people trade in food stamps for stock ownership programs in less than a year, we get well-trained, enthusiastic employees.

As a public policy, welfare-to-work’s success is measured in hard numbers, but as we at Citigroup expand and improve our existing programs, we understand that this success is also measured one person at a time.

Citigroup and Wildcat Background
Historically, many welfare-to-work programs were structured with brief training programs that led to low-skilled, minimum wage jobs, often resulting in high turnover and a return to public assistance. In 1995, Citigroup’s senior management partnered with Wildcat to pioneer a new model. The Wildcat-Citigroup partnership involves internships and extensive training—including customized skills training and higher salaries—and has resulted in an exceptionally high retention rate. The partnership is an internationally recognized success story.

How It Works
Wildcat provides vocational education and training through a 16-week program that focuses on building life, educational and work skills. The program operates from 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. five days a week and requires candidates to participate in transitional work assignments while attending vocational training classes. The occupation-specific training was specially designed by Wildcat in collaboration with Citigroup’s Human Resources staff. (Even the software programs are compatible with Citigroup systems.) In addition to classes in business, math, English and basic accounting, program participants receive training and assistance in preparing resumes, interviewing, and developing workplace interpersonal skills.

At the conclusion of the training at Wildcat, graduates have the opportunity to interview for full-time, paid work assignments for up to 16 weeks at Citigroup. These “internships” enable the graduates to continue their skills development in a real-life work setting. Furthermore, during their time at Citigroup, the interns develop new skills, through both on-the-job experiences and a series of workshops aimed at helping them successfully transition into a corporate environment. These workshops, focusing on topics such as conflict resolution and presentation skills, offer them the ability to continue to learn skills that they can use in the workplace.

The interns are also formally evaluated by their managers, who act as mentors. These formal evaluations rate their job knowledge, professional skills, interpersonal skills, attendance and punctuality. During the 16-week period, hiring decisions are based on an individual’s overall performance as well as the form's needs. Placements have been made in departments including Research, Treasury, Legal, Systems, Accounts Payable, Marketing, Operations, and Public Relations. Assignments range from Junior Research Assistants to Service Representatives to Administrative Assistants.

Since 1995, 233 Wildcat graduates have completed internships at Citigroup, 198 (90 percent) have been hired into full-time positions, and 32 have been promoted into higher level positions within the firm. The average starting salary of graduates hired in the last 12 months was $28,000 and their employment package includes comprehensive benefits, access to back-up childcare, medical and fitness centers, eligibility for tuition reimbursement, 401(k) company match, and equity ownership plans. The Wildcat model has been exported to London through a relationship with the United Kingdom's government.

Replicating the Wildcat Model
In New York City, Citibank has worked with Wildcat to create a unique program for direct hire opportunities in Citibank financial centers. This program is a demonstrated success. Since its beginning in November 2000, 81 participants have been hired as Financial Associates with a current average starting salary of $22,500. Of those hired, 8 employees have been promoted to positions of increased responsibility.

In Baltimore, CitiFinancial is working with the local community to support the efforts of the Maryland Center for Arts and Technology, a nonprofit organization. Its mission is to develop a technologically skilled workforce by utilizing innovative educational and training solutions for disadvantaged adults (many of whom are former welfare recipients), as well as at-risk youth. As of July 2002, 25 interns had graduated from the program, and each was hired into a position at CitiFinancial. Starting salaries range from $18,500 - $22,000, depending on the candidate’s prior experience.

In London, Citigroup has been heavily involved with the U.K. government's effort to increase the performance of the nation’s welfare-to-work delivery system. Through a grant from the Citigroup Foundation, the National Employment Panel is conducting research into how to duplicate the Wildcat model across the country.

In 2001, the U.K. government published a Green Paper, “Towards Full Employment in a Modern Society.” The document examines the importance of moving from a supply-driven workforce to a demand-led one, by meeting the needs and requirements of employers and working backward to meet the needs of clients.

In addition to funding provided by Citigroup, the Director of Human Resources for Europe serves as a member of the National Employment Panel’s new subgroup on skills, which reports to the U.K. Minister of Adult Skills and Life Long Learning.

Building on Citigroup's leadership in promoting welfare-to-work programs within the U.K. financial services industry, the Citigroup Foundation made a $250,000 grant to Origin, Inc. The funds will be used to develop the CITISKILLS project — products and services to help workforce training organizations in better understanding the hiring needs of employers so that those organizations can better design training programs to place low-income workers.

Citigroup employees, in conjunction with Origin and the U.K. government's National Employment Panel, will be heavily involved in providing technical expertise in the design of the training program. Ultimately, CITISKILLS seeks to strengthen the performance of Jobcentre Plus, the job placement intermediary used by the U.K. government, as well as to accelerate performance of other intermediaries within the workforce development system.

Homeownership Grants
In 2001, Citigroup provided a grant to Wildcat Service Corporation to fund a position for a professional financial counselor to create a homeownership program, which includes classes and one-on-one consultations for Wildcat graduates. Citibank is also offering program participants no-fee savings accounts, along with Individual Development Accounts to save for home and mortgage products.

Welfare-to-Work Hiring through U.S. Department of Labor National New Hire Partnership
From our call centers in San Antonio, Texas, to our processing facilities in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Citigroup has partnered with federal, state and local governments to offer good jobs with good benefits to more than 500 people, including people who have recently left military service, young people from AmeriCorps, people who have been on unemployment, and former welfare recipients. In fact, one in five of the people hired through these public-private partnerships is a former welfare recipient. At most worksites, access to benefits includes childcare support, immediate enrollment in a full benefits package, employee development and training, and opportunities for equity ownership and participation in the Citigroup 401(k) Plan.

Citigroup facilities that have hired job seekers through various government partnerships are located in:

Jacksonville, Florida
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Las Vegas, Nevada
San Antonio, Texas
Kansas City, Missouri
Hagerstown, Maryland
Irving, Texas
Tampa, Florida
Florence, Kentucky
Layton, Utah
Gray, Tennessee

Welfare-to-Work Support from the Citigroup Foundation
Since 1999, the Citigroup Foundation has given more than $5.7 million to organizations that help low-income individuals with job training and the transition from welfare-to-work. The Foundation has made more than 286 grants to organizations in 28 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The grants range in size from $1,000 to the Work Bank in Connecticut to $1 million to Wildcat.

Among the many challenges facing thousands of women making the transition from welfare-to-work is finding attire suitable for job interviews. Dress for Success is an innovative Citigroup-supported program that provides its clients with interview-appropriate clothing and career development. Clients receive one suit for interviewing and a second suit once they take a job. More than 30,000 women a year receive assistance.

To help these newly employed women meet the challenges of adapting to a corporate culture, juggling childcare and managing their finances, Dress for Success established the Professional Women’s Group. Citigroup Foundation has provided more than $500,000 since the launch of this group, serving 41 markets across the United States. Members meet once a month for discussions with experts on professional and personal development as well as “networking” sessions. Citigroup employees serve as mentors to many of these women, conduct seminars on financial management, and give advice on other business-related matters.

In 1999, Citigroup awarded a $1 million grant, payable over three years, to fund Working Together Toward Independence, which takes the Wildcat welfare-to-work model of job training and applies it to "hard-to-serve" constituents such as former drug addicts, ex-convicts and the homeless. The program is a collaboration between Wildcat and non-profit social service organizations including the Bowery Residents' Committee, Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, and Women in Need. Preliminary studies indicate that Working Together has a higher retention rate even among "hard-to-serve" clients because its holistic approach helps individuals receive the job training they need to get a job and the social services support they need to keep it.

Our Continued Commitment
Much progress has been made in the last six years in finding real jobs at real wages for thousands of former welfare recipients. But there is much work to be done. In challenging economic times, it is even more important that private and public sectors work together to sustain the progress we have made on this issue and the results that well-run welfare-to-work programs have shown in the workplace and for employees at all levels.

As of July 2003