We are stronger together. Whatever your strength, we hope you'll contribute to the IRC. The IRC in New Jersey’s Client Voices Initiative has exemplified design and decision-making practices to create programs that are responsive to client priorities. We're showcasing their journey as part of our turning hope into action holiday series.   

How have IRC programs in New Jersey collaborated to incorporate client feedback into program design and decision making?  

Gehad, IRC Client Voices Specialist: In the IRC's client voices initiative, our goal is to make our programs responsive to the existing client feedback and build sustainable feedback mechanisms to ensure our services continue to be responsive to client priorities.    

Our clients shared their insights through surveys and focus groups. We collectively reviewed the feedback thoroughly in meetings involving every program and office leadership. This internal collaboration led to major changes including restructuring our Intake & Casework Department as well as creating a client resource guide and client workshops that are informed by our clients’ feedback. We also developed standard operating procedures that outline who receives the feedback, when we make decisions based on that feedback, and how we respond to clients based on their feedback. We consulted with clients again before we implemented the sustainable feedback mechanism to ensure the process is client centered. 

Caleb, IRC Data Quality & Assurance Coordinator: We have served 6,900 clients in 2024 fiscal year. The number of clients eligible for employment services increased by 190% in a matter of six months. The data we gather is very abstract but each data point has a story. To keep track of this we started implementing a sustainable feedback process so that IRC programs can be informed by both the data and the stories. The two big programs we’ve launched are the grievance policy and the exit surveys.  It’s a long-term project.  

What are some of your achievements so far?  

Gehad, IRC Client Voices Specialist: We developed two feedback channels, tailored for each program and translated into 8 languages to ensure accessibility for our diverse clients. The procedure also includes guidance and training for staff on how to collect, analyze, and respond to client feedback.    

Caleb has played a key role in automating a client grievance mechanism to ensure all grievances are tracked, documented and responded to in a timely manner. Each client receives a paper during their enrollment in a program that includes their rights to share feedback, supervisors’ contact information, and access to a grievance survey that starts with a video explaining how to complete it. Once the client submits a grievance, the program manager receive a message. This channel ensures safeguarding our clients and a timely response to their feedback.  

Our second channel is the client satisfaction survey that clients complete at the end of their services with IRC. Our mechanisms allow the feedback to be accessible for clients. It empowers program managers and supervisors with tools to follow up with the client to close the loop and incorporate feedback into their decision-making. We will use the feedback to help measure success at the end of the fiscal year. 

Gina, IRC Intake & Casework Senior Manager: We received client feedback that ultimately highlighted the need to restructure our program. This was due to an overwhelming number of referrals from the economic empowerment and employment team. 

Since we mainly serve Haitians who have suffered severe trauma and incredible challenges to come here, we wanted to make sure our structure included team members who could understand this. In order to deliver meaningful services, we needed to create a structure that included input from people who had this lived experience. We started by building up the amount of people on the intake team to increase the number of initial contacts. Next, we created a stronger assessment form that was more comprehensive and allowed us to better understand the needs of each client to direct them more efficiently to the correct department. We were also able to see that some clients were already self-sufficient and did not need as much support. 

Fiorella, IRC Community Engagement Manager: The community resource guide is another big achievement where we’ve incorporated client feedback. We began this project about a year and a half ago to aid in the empowerment of both clients and staff by providing a vetted list of referrals to supplement services. Initially uncertain about what specific information to include in the resource guide, we fostered conversations with direct service staff on client needs to identify specific resources and community partners that were beneficial to our clients. The Client Voices Initiative helped us to better understand our clients and made the guide more impactful. Now, when we meet with various organizations, we can be more intentional and strategic, ensuring that the resources we provide to our clients are as impactful as possible. The outcome has been incredible. Other organizations know who we are and know who our clients are so they can be better received. When one of our clients goes to a referred organization seeking support they know how to serve them and who can help. 

What are your teams working on next?  

Gina, IRC Intake & Casework Senior Manager: When we presented this new design to our team, they provided critical feedback and we were able to rework the design. We gained full support now and will move forward to fully implement in December! The key piece we want to work on to achieve is a data dashboard that allows us to visualize the overall impact this re-design has had on the community and will continue to have over the years. We anticipate there being thousands of possible clients in fiscal year 2025. We are so proud of the heroic efforts made every day by the intake and casework team and everyone else in the office to ensure we are warmly welcoming newcomers to New Jersey. 

Why is it important to seek out and be informed by client priorities?   

Gehad, IRC Client Voices Specialist:  The clarity we get from client feedback is crucial because it gives us the confidence to decide where to invest our time and effort and what to focus on as we move forward in making decisions.  

Malin, IRC Development Manager: This project has established specific language around the impact of IRC’s Client Voices Initiative, including our grievance policies, updates about new programs, and data for quarterly reports to be shared with the fundraising team. When we meet with donors we can clearly communicate how we’re addressing each clients’ voices and their needs. Anecdotal reflections help contextualize the value and impact of what donors are supporting. 

You can be part of transforming lives too. We hope you'll join us and share with your neighbors, friends, and family. Learn more about our work at www.Rescue.org/Elizabeth and ways to get involved. Please consider making a financial contribution by donating to support our work in New Jersey. 

 

Read more stories of impact through our turning hope into action holiday series:

Interfaith mobilization in Kansas

Employment Specialist Mawada Ibrahim's journey in LA

Client voices shaping responsive services in New Jersey

Fred and Adele's volunteer journey in Seattle

Setting up refugee resettlement in a new community in Florida