Hiring Disabled People

We can assist with your recruitment process in relation to disabled people.

Just like in any hiring initiative, it’s important to start by identifying where your workforce has gaps. Then, instead of solely looking for traditional candidates we advise you to broaden your search to include people with disabilities, who can fill a variety of roles.

Despite much research on the advantages that people with disabilities can offer employers, too many companies hold themselves back when it comes to hiring people with disabilities. They see hiring people with disabilities as being “the right thing to do” but do not see it as part of a talent strategy that will benefit the company and outweigh what they see as the potential expenses and risk.

That mindset puts companies at a disadvantage when it comes to acquiring the talent they need in today’s job market.

Hiring people with disabilities need not cost any more than hiring someone without a disability. Making adjustments for the majority of people with disabilities may cost nothing or very little.

We also enlighten people on the recent economic modelling that found a strong correlation between better financial performance in organisations and well-developed disability-inclusion practices.

We highlight four practices that will enable you to tap into this talent pool:

Tackling unconscious bias. Are your recruiting and hiring processes discouraging applicants with disabilities, or limiting their ability to demonstrate their strengths?

Helping all employees understand the challenges that persons with disabilities face and contribute to solutions. A little extra effort in this area will go a long way toward creating a work environment where every employee can contribute his or her best. Companies should consider required training for all employees with and without disabilities — especially anyone in a management or supervisory role. The primary goals of this training are to help people better understand and empathize with the challenges their colleagues may face and reduce the stigma of being disabled. Everyone should also know about adjustments that are available to persons with disabilities, so that the burden of figuring out solutions is not solely on the person with the disability.

Strengthen the hiring process by engaging with community groups. One of the challenges companies encounter in tapping the talent pool of persons with disabilities is the very first step: identifying candidates. It’s a connection issue. Persons with disabilities may be reluctant to apply for jobs they don’t think they will get, and so their talent and interest remain under the hiring radar. But the fix isn’t difficult. Companies can start to build a robust recruitment pipeline in part by engaging with groups that support people with disabilities.

Create a mutually supportive community. Training programs and opportunities to connect with other employees will help ensure that persons with disabilities develop and succeed. Mentoring and coaching initiatives are also a great help. Persons with disabilities who serve in senior positions should strongly consider becoming mentors or champions — both internally and externally.

We know from personal experience that only when these important issues are on the table will discussions occur, priorities be set, and plans turn into actions.

We’re also confident that your current employees want to have these discussions; they want to know that bringing their whole selves to work means even their disabilities — without fear of being treated differently.

Taking these simple steps has massive benefits and no significant downside.