We reported in February on the progress teams were making on their FullConTech 2016 plays.  Then in March, we announced that Team 3.3, which was collecting resources related to attracting and retaining women in technology, had completed its project and posted their “Diversity and Inclusion: Women in Tech” resource list on the WTIA website.

We recently did a second check-in with the teams that were continuing to move forward on FullConTech 2016 plays. Here’s the status of their progress:

Completed plays

Play	Description	Status
3.3	Create cross-sector partnerships to retain diverse employees and create a sense of connectedness to the Puget Sound region	The team created and posted a list of local resources pertaining to attracting and retaining diverse talent. Read about the project here.
7.1	Create a Diversity Leadership Charter for the company	The team developed a guide for creating Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).  Read about the project here.

 

Plays showing progress

Play	Description	Status
1.1	Expand current WTIA efforts and do more to encourage volunteering, share best practices and raise awareness among members	The team plans to promote volunteer opportunities related to Training Camp + Draft Day so that candidates can get more interview practice and coaching. The team has been interviewing people in HR from DocuSign, Google, Rover.com, F5 and Swift HR to find out where they currently volunteer and what would attract them to volunteer with WTIA. From these interviews, the team will create a report.
4.2	Strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem	The team are working to identify a possible project manager for the reverse pitch competition. Senior level executives identify a problem that their company is facing and share that problem with startups to see if any can solve it.
5.3	Create an apprenticeship program for training and then hiring new employees (or moving current employees into new roles)	F5 has hired its first Apprenti apprentice, who started working at the company in February, and from this experience, the team will create a manual for onboarding apprentices. F5 will check in with WTIA every month for the next three months, and during this time, F5 will gather information and best practices that they will share with other tech companies onboarding apprentices.

Plays moving forward, with team members still developing an approach

Play	Description	Status
2.1	Bring together WTIA member organizations and target schools to develop the following programs: Teaching fellowship, Job opportunity app/platform, Career counseling.	WTIA proposed that this team of mostly educators organize a group of educators to review an analysis of job descriptions for entry-level software developers, which was a FullConTech 2015 Play (see the 2015 Playbook). A volunteer project manager will join the team in mid-May to help plan meetings and assist the team in moving the project forward.

Play on hold

Play	Description	Status
4.3	Create a branding campaign that shows Washington State is a great place to start a business	The team is creating a list of resources for entrepreneurs to learn why WA is a great place to start a business. This play is on hold until it more team members join to help execute it. It also may get picked up in the fall by a professor.

Canceled plays (Teams decided they did not have enough participation to continue.)

Play	Description
3.4	Create “Skybox” trouble ticket system for giving tech students the hands-on experience they need to get hired
5.1	Create a database for matching job descriptions, company culture and educational requirements to candidate skill sets and values.
6.4	Create a comprehensive on boarding and mentor program for junior hires

 

Want to join the FullConTech conversation? Register for the May 22 event which will focus on Civic Collaboration.