Part of the Progress model involves our support of companies which want to enhance the benefits of their employees through creative means - increasing the effective take-home pay of employees by way of programs that often have no or little cost to employers. Another aspect of our work with companies around these programs is that we want companies to perceive us as pro-business.

We don’t know a better way to get to know good companies than to provide a service to them and their employees for a price which is truly affordable, and often, free. Progress presents to companies the following services and concepts: 1) Best practices of companies that assist low-income workers in filing their tax forms and that help their workers take advantage of the earned income tax credit 2) Techniques to assist their employees in using bank accounts, direct deposit, and healthy credit mechanisms 3) Means through which companies best help their employees to resist using high fee and high interest financial institutions such as check-cashing shops and payday lending institutions 4) Processes whereby, when employees receive lump sum payments for retirement funds, profit sharing or severance, companies can best stage the payments or help, by other means, to assist the employees to invest the monies wisely 5) Ways companies best encourage their low-income employees to take matches on retirement plans, become owners of employer stock, establish personal savings and retirement accounts, and develop home equity.

Presently we are providing services to Staples and 14 other companies around issues involving their low-income employees. Identification of these companies is based on several factors: the presence of significant numbers of low-income employees, geography, access to top leaders and a sectoral approach which prioritizes manufacturing, healthcare, financial, retail and service companies. The following table demonstrates the value of certain programs to companies and employees. Again, these programs have no or little cost to employers.

In summary, some low-income employees, those who are doing many of the wrong things financially, could receive the equivalent of a sixty percent raise if they were aware of and acting upon knowledge of programs that are widely available today.

We also work with a group called WorkSource Partnership, a for-profit consulting firm, which one of our principals co-founded. WorkSource Partners provides and coordinates training, career counseling, and hiring services. They help companies find, keep, and develop entry-level employees, reducing turnover, lowering costs, improving productivity, and enhancing customer service. They have forged long-term partnerships with national and regional organizations such as Staples, Genesis ElderCare, KFC and Partners HealthCare System, helping them invest in their entry-level workers.