Graduate Recruiter’s Disability Café

Wednesday 26th September, 2012

On 26 September, My Plus Consulting hosted more than 35 delegates for a Graduate Recruiter’s Disability Café. The Café was focused on the issue of ‘disclosure’ amongst disabled job applicants. Research showed that 71% of disabled students would prefer not to tell an employer about their disability. However employers wish to know for a number of reasons, including being able to implement adjustments required by the individual.

Waqas Samad, Managing Director, Barclays, opened the Café by welcoming the delegates and speaking of the talent that existed amongst disabled individuals; talent that employers would miss out on if they weren’t disability confident.

Helen Cooke, Director of My Plus Consulting, introduced the focus of the event and also covered how the Café would be facilitated.

The delegates were also introduced to Doug Cameron of Grasshopper Design who would be creating a graphic recording of all discussions and conversations.

Introduction & Context

Introduction & Context

Getting started….Helen started the delegates thinking about the afternoon’s subject by asking them to write on the white table cloths a few words about what they wished to get out of the event.

Areas of interest included:• Understanding the concerns.• How to handle a late disclosure.• The opportunity to learn from

universities.

Getting started…

Helen CookeHelen Cooke, Director of My Plus Consulting and founder of the Disability Cafès, spoke about 3 key areas concerning disclosure. She started off talking about the reasons that recruiters were asking applicants to disclose their disability and their need to be clear as to how they were going to use the information. Secondly she talked about why applicants were reluctant to disclose; including factors such as fearing discrimination, not wanting favourable treatment, uncertainty about why they were being asked and not seeing themselves as disabled. Finally, Helen talked about what recruiters needed to be doing to encourage applicants to be more open and to inform a potential employer of their disability and their need for adjustments.

Our Speakers…

Disability support services.Following Helen’s presentations the delegates were asked to consider the following question:

• From what you have learnt today, what do you need to do differently to ensure that disabled applicants feel comfortable telling you about their disability or health condition?

In small groups, delegates discussed what they needed to be doing to encourage disabled applicants to be open about their disability with employers, and to encourage early disclosure.

As the delegates spoke they captured their conversations by drawing and writing on the table cloths. The delegates were also asked to move around the room in order to continue their discussions with others and hear what else was being spoken about.

Discussion…

The panel discussionAfter the break Helen facilitated an open panel discussion. This started with the panel members talking about their own situation and their thoughts about informing an employer about their disability. Delegates were then given the opportunity to ask questions to find out more about areas that were of interest.

The panel discussion…

The panel members were:• Jamile Ferreira; Legal Coucil, Barclays.• Arunima Misra; Lawyer, Ashursts.• Christina Nelson; Law Student, SOAS.• Tamsin Shattock; Graduate, University of Oxford.• Madeleine Warren; Diversity Manager, Goldman Sachs.

During the final part of the Café, Helen took the participants through the graphic recording of the afternoon so far reminding them of what they had heard, the key questions they had been asked, and the conversations that had taken place.

The participants were then asked for their key learnings from the afternoon; these included:• The importance of explaining why you are asking.• How you are asking the question.• Explaining how the information

will be used.

Insights

We are delighted to announce the dates for next year’s Disability Cafès. These are:• 6th March• 5th June• 11th SeptemberFurther information about these Café will be available shortly.

Members of the Graduate Recruiter’s Disability Café Club will also be invited to attend the breakfast seminars; these are taking place as follows:• 29th January• 26th April• 3rd July

For those wishing to join the Graduate Recruiter’s Disability Café Club you are invited to offset the cost of this Café against membership should you wish to do so. Please contact Helen Cooke for more information. Helen@myplusconsulting.com. This offer is open until the 19th October, 2012.

Next steps….

Host:Helen CookeDirectorMy Plus Consulting

Tel: 01753 360018Mobile: 07740 986758Email: helen@myplusconsulting.comwww.myplusconsulting.com

Graphic recorder:Doug CameronGrasshopper Design.

Tel: 07766 945902Email: doug@grasshopperdesign.co.uk

Contact Details