This stark reality from our workforce development board discovery interviews reveals a fundamental problem: WDBs create workarounds that fragment data even further when mandated systems fail. After interviewing nine nationwide workforce boards, we uncovered these shadow systems' hidden costs—and what WDBs actually need to drive strategic impact.
The Shadow System Syndrome
Our research exposed painful truths about how WDBs manage their most critical asset: data. The problems aren't theoretical—they're documented pain points from real workforce professionals:
CWDS Workflow Failures: Board members told us "extracting usable information is extremely difficult" despite entering all required data into mandated systems. The result? Staff waste hours trying to generate basic reports.
Crushing Feedback Delays: Results take 6-9 months to appear in official systems—far too long for real-time program adjustments. One interview subject noted staff must "hound employers for timesheets and progress reports" while waiting for system updates.
Data Fragmentation Crisis: States average 3-5 separate tools for workforce grants, creating what experts call a "tangled administrative web." This fragmentation forces WDBs to reconcile data across disconnected platforms manually.
These failures explain why boards violate policies to create shadow spreadsheets. They're not breaking rules by choice but trying to do their jobs effectively.
What WDBs Actually Want
Through our discovery interviews, a clear vision emerged for workforce boards: a dual-dashboard system that serves compliance and strategy.
The Compliance View: Red, yellow, and green indicators across blended funding streams—WIOA, TANF, and apprenticeships—providing instant visibility into program health without diving into individual systems.
The Strategy/Impact View: Economic mobility metrics like "15% wage increases for apprentices over 3 years" that demonstrate real outcomes to funders and stakeholders.
The holy grail? "Enter the data one time and then everything is integrated" through API connections that eliminate duplicate entry while maintaining cross-organization visibility.
The Real-Time ROI Framework WDBs Need
Based on our research and product roadmap development, workforce boards need immediate access to four critical metrics:
Immediate Visibility Metrics: Completion progress of learners in active programs, employment status tracking, and wage progression over time. These metrics replace quarterly surprises with actionable intelligence.
Provider Performance Intelligence: Cost-per-successful placement comparisons across all funded programs enable data-driven funding decisions rather than relationship-based allocation.
Measurable Skill Gains (MSG) earned by program and provider, with certifications mapped to industry demand—turning training investments into strategic workforce development.
Beyond Compliance: Strategic Impact Measurement
Our interviews revealed what WDBs want to prove to their stakeholders: program effectiveness using longitudinal data, economic mobility impact through wage progression tracking, and customer satisfaction from both job seekers and employers.
Critically, boards want "plain language dashboards accessible to the public" rather than acronym-heavy compliance reports. They need tools that communicate impact, not just check regulatory boxes.
The Michigan Proof Point
Michigan's workforce programs demonstrate what's possible with integrated systems. Using Craft Connect's real-time tracking, they achieved 95% completion rates—nearly double the industry average. More importantly, they unlocked $78 million in state funding through proper outcome documentation.
As one program manager told us: "Craft is the only place we document standards progress"—eliminating shadow systems while building funder confidence.
Connecting Systems to Close the Gap
The shadow spreadsheet problem isn't about technology, but connecting systems that work for people moving through them. When workforce boards have real-time ROI visibility, they can make strategic decisions that transform lives and communities.
Ready to eliminate shadow spreadsheets and gain the strategic dashboards your board deserves? Based on interviews with nine WDBs nationwide, we know exactly what you need.
Schedule a Demo to see how Craft Connect delivers the dual-dashboard system workforce boards want.
.png)