Unlocking Workforce Success with Mobile Tech
Learn how workforce teams across Texas and the U.S. are using mobile technology - including mass texting, two-way chat, and mobile web apps - to reach job seekers faster, streamline processes, and support staff efficiency. Transcript below.
Max Schelkopf [00:05]: Welcome, welcome, welcome, everyone. Hope you’re all doing well. Thank you for joining me on this lovely Tuesday afternoon—or morning, depending on where you are. Today we’re going to be talking about workforce development, mobile tech, and how to succeed with it—plus the tools that Engage by Cell offers, the path to success when using those tools, and how we can help you get there. I’ll give it another 30–60 seconds while we wait for any additional attendees to join us.
Max Schelkopf [00:48]: My name is Max Schelkopf, and I’m a Senior Mobile Solutions Consultant with Engage by Cell. I handle the majority of Engage by Cell’s workforce development work. We have a whole team dedicated to customer success and training, so we’re extremely well-versed. I spend most of my day immersed in the workforce development world, so I’m very familiar with common goals across the nation. We work with workforce development boards and organizations in over 35 states now—whether it’s a smaller nonprofit or statewide initiatives, and everything in between.
Max Schelkopf [01:45]: Alright, I’ll go ahead and get started here. I’m going to share my screen.
Max Schelkopf [01:52]: And again, my name is Max Schelkopf, and I’m a Senior Consultant here at Engage by Cell. We’re going to discuss how to unlock different paths to success with the mobile technology that we offer.
Max Schelkopf [02:07]: A little bit about Engage by Cell: we’ve been in business for over 20 years. We’re a cloud-based SaaS solution, and we pride ourselves on human customer support. We definitely don’t have a 1-800 number or a chatbot that you get directed to if you need assistance. If you need help, you reach out to real human beings—that’s how we like to be treated, so that’s how we treat our customers. Another important point: we’re entirely based in the U.S. We don’t outsource anything; we do everything in-house, and that matters more and more as cybersecurity becomes increasingly important.
Max Schelkopf [02:54]: So what are we going to talk about today? How to succeed in workforce development using mobile technology. This will be a blend of a demonstration of the tools, but I’ll start by talking about what the tools are and the challenges they solve.
Max Schelkopf [03:12]: There are two main challenges Engage by Cell can help you overcome. The first is engagement. If the primary tools in our toolbox are email and phone calls, it’s getting increasingly difficult. People don’t respond to email like they once did, and they certainly don’t respond to phone calls—especially younger demographics. With caller ID, if we don’t recognize the number, odds are we’re not picking up. That creates a communication gap. So at Engage by Cell, we built a text messaging platform around the needs of workforce development.
Max Schelkopf [04:07]: Inside the texting tool, there are a couple of layers required to be successful. There’s a recruiting component—marketing the programs and services you provide. A big challenge in workforce development is that many people don’t even know these resources exist. To help alleviate that, we have a mass inbound component to texting. You’ve all seen it: a call to action on a billboard, the side of a truck, or in an office—something like, “Are you looking for a new career? Text JOBS to XYZ number.” That lets the person text in, and the system responds automatically with a message like, “Thanks for texting the Career Center—we’re going to help you get employed,” or whatever your messaging is. Most importantly, it captures the person’s phone number and helps you build a database of potential participants, or directs them to an eligibility form—whatever fits your workflow.
Max Schelkopf [05:39]: Next is mass outbound messaging. With a couple of clicks, everyone in the database can receive a text like, “Job fair next Friday,” or you can automate follow-ups from a case management standpoint. We’re all bogged down trying to reach 10, 20, 30, 40+ people—so you can automate some of that outreach. The final piece is one-on-one texting. We have a feature called Text Chat that enables long-format conversations like you would normally have via phone. If you’re trying to do one-by-one on your personal phone, it’s not scalable—our solution is. So the first challenge is engagement, and we help you overcome it with text messaging.
Max Schelkopf [06:37]: The second challenge is information accessibility. Workforce organizations have many programs and lots of information scattered everywhere—multiple websites, paper at the job center, flyers for upcoming events with no easy way to share or market them. So we built a mobile web app platform. We all know what an “app” is, but a mobile web app looks, feels, and acts as close to a downloaded app experience as possible—only it’s entirely web-based. We do that intentionally to break the hard-download barrier. Getting someone to download an app is hard: Apple or Android, go to the App Store, find the right app—and they may still say, “I’m not interested in having this on my phone.” With our mobile web app, users scan a QR code and it pops up, or it pairs really well with texting. You can send a link and say, “Click this and upload your resume,” and the app opens instantly. They can upload documents, view videos, fill out forms, and more.
Max Schelkopf [09:00]: Quick recap: challenge one is engagement—people don’t answer email or pick up the phone, so you need to text, especially younger demographics. Challenge two is information accessibility—streamlining how people access the information and resources they need.
Max Schelkopf [09:31]: You should see a QR code on the screen. If you scan it—or manually open your texting app and text the word “MAX” to 925-431-6822—it will prompt a text message. You should get a response pretty quickly that says something like, “Thank you for texting the Career Center. We will keep you up to date on career, education, and training opportunities.”
Max Schelkopf [10:19]: That leads us into what the tools are. What you’re looking at is the backend admin side of the Engage by Cell platform. The two main tools I’m covering are texting and the mobile web app, plus reporting. Quick note on admin: you can have different permission levels. If someone needs limited access, they can have it; if a manager needs broader access to cover others, you can assign roles accordingly.
Max Schelkopf [11:36]: For the text messaging platform, you click the Text Messaging tab. On the left are different tools for the capabilities I mentioned earlier. For mass inbound texting, you create a call to action to market services and capture information. In Manage Inbound, there are two main pieces: a primary keyword and secondary keywords. The primary keyword is the one we all texted in, tied to a QR code call to action. It texts people back to identify who you are and what you’ll help with—and it captures their phone number (via the “See Subscribers” button).
Max Schelkopf [13:21]: Secondary keywords are powerful for creating additional calls to action for different programs, locations, or departments. A common example is “JOBS” or “CAREER,” like: “Text JOBS to learn about career opportunities local to you.” You can also link to a job board—like WorkInTexas.com—and insert the URL. The system shortens the URL to make it text-message friendly. Then you can create a new list (for example, “webinar example”) and start building targeted outreach based on what people texted in. You can create additional keywords for different industries—welding, medical, etc.—and build targeted lists for more effective messaging.
Max Schelkopf [16:33]: If you want to see what that looks like, scan the QR code or text “JOBS” to the same 925 number. You’ll get the message we created, and the link will take you to the WorkInTexas.com job board.
Max Schelkopf [16:54]: That’s the mass inbound component. Next is mass outbound messaging. There are two common use cases. First: blanket communications—hiring events, new partnerships, new programs, summer youth enrollment, and so on. Second: a micro-level use case for individual caseloads or departments—automating follow-ups so people get a weekly or twice-weekly check-in message.
Max Schelkopf [18:22]: Here’s a quick example: “Job fair next Friday from noon to 5 p.m., hiring on the spot. Please bring a resume. Click here to register.” You can link to a mobile web app form or another resource. The system shortens the URL. Then you choose the list you want to send it to. You can schedule messages to go out multiple times—tomorrow, Friday, Wednesday, the day before the event—set them recurring weekly or monthly, and so on. For this demo, I’ll send it now—so everyone who scanned earlier just got the text about the job fair.
Max Schelkopf [20:08]: If I were a case manager automating follow-up, it could be: “Hi, I hope you’re doing well. Don’t forget, you can always text me back if you need assistance.” You can personalize messages with tokens so it says “Hey Max,” “Hey Patty,” “Hey Karen,” etc. If a name isn’t in the system, the token is removed so it won’t look strange—it will just say “Hi.” You can schedule this weekly—for example, every Thursday at 10 a.m.—set an end date, and then it’s set-and-forget.
Max Schelkopf [22:12]: You can also send picture messages. There are four media types. You can drag an image in—like a flyer or logo for your upcoming event or partner—and then select the list and schedule or send.
Max Schelkopf [23:13]: Next: managing lists and subscribers. You can create as many lists as you want—by location, office, or stage in the employment process. You can create, rename, delete, and see how many people are in each list. You can also assign time zones if needed (usually not, but some states have multiple time zones). Managing subscribers is where you see individuals in a list and upload existing contacts you’re already working with. It’s simple: upload an Excel file with columns like first name, last name, phone number, select the list(s), and you’re good to go.
Max Schelkopf [24:42]: Last piece before mobile web apps is one-on-one texting. We pushed out the job fair text. I’ll do a quick roleplay and text back: “I don’t have my resume ready. Can you help me?” In the system, that incoming message appears. As a case manager, I can respond: “No problem, Max. Would you like to send it over, or schedule an appointment?” To the end user, it looks like a normal text conversation. They might respond, “I’d love to come in and get help.” As more people text in, you can jump between conversations. The question I get asked all the time is, “How do I know when someone texts in?” You can set up notifications via email or even a text alert that someone is in the queue and needs assistance.
Max Schelkopf [26:15]: That’s the text messaging platform in a nutshell. If you have questions, feel free to throw them in the chat, and I’ll answer them either as we go or at the end. This helps overcome the engagement challenge—because if you can’t communicate effectively with the people you’re trying to help, it’s tough. Workforce development often isn’t a quick turnaround, and this helps shorten the timeline by improving communication and moving people into jobs faster.
Max Schelkopf [27:00]: The next challenge is information accessibility. I’m going to jump over to another account. I live in central Illinois and there’s over a foot of snow on the ground, so I’m going to pull up the Virgin Islands mobile web app—it’ll make me feel better, even if I’m pretending.
Max Schelkopf [27:28]: Quick recap on the mobile web app: it’s about providing information and resources as easily as possible—consolidating access to everything you offer. It helps overcome the problem of information being scattered online, still on paper, or sitting on someone’s desk. It needs to be web-based, simple, and easy to access—that’s what the mobile web app provides.
Max Schelkopf [28:03]: If you scan this QR code, it will pull it up on your phone. Key advantages: no hard download required—you scan a QR code or click a link in a text and it opens. Zero IT required to build these out. And they’re fast. If you’ve ever tried to build a traditional app or get something on your organization’s website, you know it involves tickets, approvals, and waiting. If you want content online quickly and to get the word out about programs fast, this is a great way to do it—because it helps close the gap and reduces the time it takes to get people back into employment.
Max Schelkopf [29:15]: In the mobile web app admin, there are tabs on the left for content creation and management. Navigation controls your home screen—icons and clickable items. Common workforce use cases include linking out to job boards (like WorkInTexas), training providers, document uploads (very popular due to document exchange needs), hot jobs lists, booking job center appointments (with automated reminders), “chat with us” to trigger a text conversation, events and calendars, and more. You can also link existing web-based resources—like Metrix Learning—so the app becomes a hub for everything, making resources super accessible.
Max Schelkopf [31:20]: To build content, go to Build Your Pages. There are many content tools: text, buttons, carousels/slides, file uploads (Word, Excel, PDF), audio, video, maps with turn-by-turn navigation, iframes to embed websites within the app, fillable forms, quizzes, intake forms, comment boards, polls, surveys—you name it. You create content by selecting what you want. For example, to add text, drag in the text icon and type your message. It updates live in real time.
Max Schelkopf [32:43]: You can also add a fillable form—for example, a job fair registration form—collect identifiers like name, phone, email, and employment status. Once created, you can grab the URL to that specific page and text it out to 10,000 people to drive signups. If you’re building something more complicated and aren’t ready for it to be public yet, you can toggle content on/off with a power button.
Max Schelkopf [33:56]: We also have built-in templates, and you can brand everything with your colors, fonts, and style. Here’s an example that uses a stacked image template instead of circle icons. This one is for the WeCare program in New York City—specifically their TANF program. It’s not a WIOA project, but it is still workforce development. They have many people moving through TANF programs and need similar support. This is an example of the stacked icon look—you can make it look and feel however you want.
Max Schelkopf [35:03]: Lastly, reporting is important for both texting and mobile web apps. We all love data—we have to report data, and we want to measure effectiveness. We have a robust reporting page with many reports: how many texts were sent and received, link click tracking (who clicked and how many times), opt-outs, and transcripts of conversations between you and individuals or groups. For mobile web apps, you can view general stats like how many people visit, what pages they view, and when. If you’re collecting data via forms, polls, surveys, quizzes, etc., you can export it via Excel or PDF, print it, and filter by timeframes.
Max Schelkopf [36:38]: Alright, do we have a question? “The option to have each text use the customer’s name doesn’t seem to be working.” Monica?
Max Schelkopf [36:48]: Yes—it might not be turned on in your account. How are you doing, Monica? You likely need first-name tokens enabled. On the right side, you should see “Insert into text.” You can click first name, last name, or custom fields (my demo account fields are blank, but you can create custom fields in yours). That’s how you do it. I’ll shoot you an email after this, Monica, and make sure it’s live on your account.
Max Schelkopf [37:33]: I’ll get you taken care of, Monica—no problem.
Max Schelkopf [37:41]: Alright, that’s been the overview of how Engage by Cell helps workforce development succeed. We all share the common goal of getting people employed or into programs to support them if they’re underemployed or unemployed. We need to help them get where they need to be as fast as possible. To do that, it’s about being efficient—communicating quickly and effectively, meeting people where they are, which nowadays is on their phones. That’s the mission we support workforce development organizations with at Engage by Cell. If you have additional questions, feel free to put them in the chat.
Max Schelkopf [38:31]: If not, I’ll give it about 30 seconds—thank you very much for joining me today. Let me pull up a slide with my contact information.
Max Schelkopf [38:55]: Here we go. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. My email is max@engagebycell.com, and there’s my direct line. You can call or text me—whatever’s easiest. In the meantime, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and a wonderful new year. If you’re ever curious about text messaging, the mobile web app, or what we do at larger scales across the country and how we fit into it all, please reach out. Have a great day—thank you for attending, thank you for your time, and happy holidays, everybody.
