SOAR365’s Business Solutions team is a perfect example of how businesses can successfully integrate people with disabilities into their workforce, driving both social impact and economic growth in our community. As a proud member of the AbilityOne program, SOAR365 is proof that hiring individuals with disabilities offers a competitive advantage thanks to a more diverse and innovative workforce.
This not only benefits our employees but provides unparalleled support for clients such as the Defense Supply Center of Richmond (DSCR), also known as Bellwood, where SOAR365 employees staff the Visitor Center and provide Landscaping & Grounds Maintenance and Custodial services to award-winning results.
By implementing inclusive policies and providing necessary accommodations, SOAR365 has built a workplace where individuals with disabilities thrive, demonstrating the tangible benefits of hiring this often overlooked and underserved talent pool.
Actionable Ways to Create Equitable Employment for People with Disabilities
Workers with disabilities provide many advantages for businesses and the economy. They bring experience and a diverse set of skills to meet expectations and deliver results in a wide range of industries. Sixty-one million adults in the United States live with a disability (CDC), yet only one in three (34%) individuals with disabilities are employed compared to 75% of their non-disabled counterparts.
By employing people with disabilities, you’re giving your company a competitive edge, adding value to your business, enhancing your workforce diversity, and helping create a healthier economy. And yet, employees with disabilities make up a largely underserved workforce.
Businesses of all types can reduce or eliminate these barriers to employment by beginning to incorporate sustained strategic, inclusive business practices. Building a disability-inclusive workplace culture enables organizations to reach many talented workers.
According to the Journal of Business and Psychology, managers and organizations that have formal organizational policies and training around hiring and retaining workers with disabilities are more likely to hire people with disabilities.
By implementing these six actionable tips, your organization can recruit, hire, retain, and advance workers with disabilities—and your business—at all levels.
Here are a few ways to build an inclusive business culture:
Missions and Policy
Make equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities part of the company’s strategic mission and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility policies.
Supportive Teams
Build teams of allies, including executives, managers, and employees with disabilities, to support the recruiting, hiring, and advancement of people with disabilities.
Education
Companies committed to disability inclusion regularly communicate and educate employees to reinforce that commitment. Provide regular training on disability-related issues to all personnel, specifically those involved in recruitment, hiring, promotion, and retention processes.
Communication
How an organization communicates about the inclusion of people with disabilities can impact its ability to attract and retain employees with disabilities. Consumers evaluate organizations that hire people with disabilities more favorably than those that do not.
Recruitment and Accessibility
Stereotypes portray workers with disabilities as less productive than employees without disabilities. However, the Journal of Business and Psychology found that individuals with disabilities are more productive in some instances and do not experience higher levels of lateness or absenteeism.
Build a hiring process accessible to those with disabilities. Audit the digital recruiting screening systems to determine if qualified applicants with disabilities have equal access. With intentional partnerships, companies can successfully build a pipeline of applicants with disabilities, which is key to ongoing outreach and recruitment. As a result, companies can find the talent they may have overlooked, and other personnel benefit from effectively integrating people with disabilities into their workforce.
Retention and Advancement
Disability inclusion also means what happens after hiring. Employers must take steps to retain valued employees with disabilities and ensure equal opportunity to advance and grow. Finally, create an effective promotion policy that includes disability as a positive selection
factor.
Reasonable Accommodations
According to AskEARN, reasonable accommodations, occasionally called “workplace accommodations,” have assistive technology or adaptive equipment. Reasonable accommodations may include flexible work arrangements such as flextime or telework or schedule adjustments for medical appointments. In addition, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) notes that more than half of all workplace accommodations cost nothing. Furthermore, JAN’s statistics report that employers note financial benefits and increased productivity.
Evidence suggests accommodations improve interactions between employees with disabilities and their coworkers and increase company morale. Establish a policy that provides workplace flexibility and accommodations for all applicants and employees, with and without disabilities. Accommodations signal that the organization values workers’ contributions and cares about workers’ well-being, leading to long-term commitment and tenure.
Accountability
How do companies assess and determine if their current policies and procedures improve employment opportunities for persons with disabilities? Accountability.
1. Audit and review employment-related activities
2. Conduct annual assessments
3. Seek input from employees with disabilities regarding policies and develop strategic plans to address any noted deficiencies
4. Provide regularly scheduled reports
5. Establish a system for identifying, monitoring, and reporting
6. Establish a complaint resolution process that is efficient, fair, and impartial
Studies show workers with and without disabilities attach the same significance to work-related outcomes such as job security, income, and promotion opportunities.
Representing different ages, genders, and ethnic backgrounds, workers with disabilities can offer companies a competitive edge. Individuals with disabilities are experienced problem solvers who develop creative business solutions, add value to a business, and enhance workforce diversity.
To learn more about how SOAR365 has built an inclusive workplace alongside SourceAmerica and the AbilityOne program, visit soar365.org. You can also find more information at SHRM Employing Abilities at Work Program at https://employingabilities.org/certificate/.