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Welcome!

Discovering Untapped Talent:Strategies for Disability InclusivenessMay 7, 2009

Hannah Rudstam, Ph.D. Disability & business Technical Assistance Center, Cornell UniversitySherrill Curtiss, Work Force Readiness Director, Garden State Council-SHRMPamela Scarpa, Diversity Director, Garden State Council--SHRMJoe Zesski, Resources for Independent Living, Burlington, NJ

Supported by a grant from the Kessler Foundation

Employment and Disability Institute www.edi.cornell.edu

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Guess that person…

Try to guess the name of the person your partner’s card

– Ask your partner any yes/no question that would help you guess the name of the person on their card (without mentioning the name)

– As soon as you’ve guessed your person, raise your hand

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The face of disability is our face. People with disabilities are in all walks of life, in all professions,

and in all ages.

It’s about people, not pity.

It’s about ability, not disability.

Often, the biggest barrier is not the disability, but the attitudes of others.

See the person, not the disability

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Many people participated in making this event possible…

Henry H. Kessler Foundation

Garden State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management

New Jersey Independent Living Centers

New Jersey Business Leadership Network

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Goals for today…

Introduction: Why this? Why now?A look at business and disability trends

Module 1: Individual Level--Interactions & expectations inthe workplaceScenarios around hiring and reasonable accommodation

Module 2: Organizational Level—Business strategies for disability inclusiveness

Module 3: Outside the Organization—Building partnerships & collaborations

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Why this? Why now?

How have we viewed people with disabilities

in the workplace?

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The “Tiny Tim” Stage

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The “Hire the Handicapped”

Stage

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Legal Compliance

Stage

The Americans With Disabilities

Act

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Beyond Legal Compliance--Disability as a

difference, not a deficit

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The journey beyond legal compliance

“Are There Wheelchairs in

Heaven?”

Ben Maittlin,

NPR Morning Edition, Dec. 7, 2005

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5042181

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Legal compliance alone does not link to competitive advantage

or success

About links…

Disability inclusiveness does!

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Link #1Disability inclusiveness enhances

your organization’s access to talent.

Can your organization afford to ignore 20% of your available talent?

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Link #2Disability inclusive workplace

practices will be a key strategy for preparing for the workforce of the

near future, when talent will become harder to find.

(Even with the current economic downturn.)

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In the near future…Upcoming workforce trends*

•About one-third of the U.S. workforce will start to retire in the next five years

•By 2012, it is projected that there will be significantly more jobs than people. This trend will intensify until 2030.

•People are changing jobs more frequently

•It will be very difficult to find talent in several sectors

*Sources: Dychtawald, K., Erickson, T. & Morison, R. (2006) Workforce Crisis: How to Beat the Coming Shortage of Skills and Talent. (Boston: Harvard Business School Press.Herman, R. & Olivo, T. & Gioia, J. (2000) Impending Crisis: Too Many Jobs; Too Few People (NY, NY: Harper).

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In the near future…A greater portion of our workforce will be working with a disability.

•Enhanced ability to diagnose disabilities earlier

•Better treatments mean more people can work with disabilities

•Improved assistive technology means the disability can be effectively accommodating in the workplace

•Our population is aging

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Source: U.S. Census Bureau Report on Americans with Disabilities: 1994-95, P70-61 (August 1997)

Based on Survey of Income and Program Participation, Oct. 1994-Jan. 1995

Disability As a Function of AgeDisability As a Function of Age

19© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

20© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

21© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

22© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

23© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

24© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

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Link # 3

A disability inclusive workforce sends the right message to your

customers.

And it’s not just about “looking good.” This links to

business/organizational success!

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Consider this study*:

A University of Massachusetts & Harris Poll study found that 93% of customers surveyed said they would PREFER to patronize a business that has

people with disabilities in their workforce.

*Gary N. Sipersteina, Neil Romanob, and Amanda Mohlera, and Robin Parker. A national survey of consumer attitudes towards companies that hire people with disabilities. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation 22 (2005) 1-7 IOS

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Link # 4

People with disabilities perform as well as any other

employee.

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A study of 314 workplaces*

Employees with disabilities:

•Had the same job performance ratings as employees without disabilities

•Did not require any more of supervisor’s time

•Were no more likely to be absent, late or have off-work time than any other employee

•Did not have more workplace accidents

•Were less likely to leave the job

*DePaul University and Disability Works. Exploring the Bottom Line: A Study of the Costs and Benefits of Workers with Disabilities. Released January 28, 2007. Accessed March 31, 2008 at http://www.disabilityworks.org/downloads/disabilityworksDePaulStudyComprehensiveResults.doc

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Link # 5

Reasonable accommodation–it’s not just about the law.

It’s about a key strategy to retain your talent.

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Direct Benefits•87%--Accommodation enabled us to retain a valued employee

•74%-- Increased employee’s productivity

•55%--Increased employee’s attendance

•54%--Saved worker’s comp costs Indirect Benefits

•69% Improved interactions with co-workers

•61% Increased overall company morale

•57%--Improved interactions with customers

•42%--Improved workplace safety

•41%--Increased overall company attendance

A new study from the Job Accommodation

Network…

*Source: Job Accommodation Network (2007) Workplace Accommodations: Low Cost, High Impact. U. S. Department of Labor. Accessed May 3, 2008 at www.jan.wvu.edu/media/LowCostHighImpact.pdf

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Turnover costs—the impact on the business

Search costs Up-front hiring costs

Separation costs

New employee Services

Lost productivity

Lost organizational

knowledge

Lost customers, contacts,clients,

stakeholdersLost goodwill

The Saratoga Institute estimates that it costs about 100% of annual salary to replace a lost employee.

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Link # 6

Reasonable accommodation–it’s not just about the law.

It’s an excellent return on investment.

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Various studies have found that reasonable accommodations cost much less than

employers expect.

A Job Accommodation Study* found:

•49% of reasonable accommodations cost nothing

• 78% cost less than $500

*McNaughton, Tamie and Beth Loy. Workplace Accommodations: A Small Investment for a Large Return. A paper presented at the Job Accommodation Webcast June 12, 23007. Accessed March 31, 2008 at http://www.jan.wvu.edu/Teleconf/Events/2007/6-12-07_Handouts/WorkplaceAccomm.ppt#295,17, Workplace Accommodation: A Small Investment Yields Large Returns

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Link # 7

It’s not just about being able to engage people with obvious disabilities, it’s also

about non-obvious disabilities.

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Will your organization know how to engage people with hidden disabilities?

•3 – 5% of your current and potential talent will have ADD/ADHD*

•Nearly 10% of your current and potential talent will have a learning disability**

•About 1 in 5 adults has a diagnosable psychiatric disability in any given year*

•Depression is now the second leading cause of off-work time from the American workplace**

*Low, Keith. Prevalence of ADBH: What are the Numbers? U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Dec 27, 2007.**Maja Altarac, MD, PhD and Ekta Saroha, MA. Lifetime Prevalence of Learning Disability. PEDIATRICS Vol. 119 Supplement February 2007, pp. S77-S83.

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OK…Let’s talk

Breakout Activity #1:

Disability inclusiveness workplace interactions:

•Hiring•Reasonable Accommodation

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Breakout Activity #1:

Directions:

• Count off—by 8

• Get an envelope with directions

• Breakout group 30 min

• Large group debrief 20 min

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Breakout Activity #1:

Person with a disability:

“Jamie” or “Jodie”

The Employer:

“HR Director” or “Hiring manager”

Observer

ObserverObserver

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Breakout Activity #1:

Directions:

In your envelope…• “Quick Facts” Sheet –one for everyone

• Directions for “Jodie” or Jamie”

• Directions for person playing Hiring Manager or HR Director

• Observers’ Worksheets

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Breakout Activity #1:

Back in the large group:

1. Observers:• Highlights from the conversation• Any surprises?

2. All:• For hiring scenarios: Would this

person have been hired in real life?

• For RA scenarios: What was the result of the conversation? Would this RA have worked in real life?

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Time for a break!

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Module 2:

Expanding Options—Exploring Disability Inclusive Strategies

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It’s about tying the

rope together

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What are the best practices of other companies?

Ten disability inclusiveness strategies…

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Strategy

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Establish resource or affinity

groups

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Strategy

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Have a look at your

diversity plan

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Strategy

3 Managers & supervisors…

Key players in translating any

business strategy, including disability

inclusiveness

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Strategy

4 Employees with

disabilities: Including a disability

perspective in your

product/service design

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Strategy

5 How well are you doing?

Consider “mystery shoppers”

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Strategy

6 Spread the business case for disability inclusiveness throughout

the

organization

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Strategy

7 Create mentoring & internship

programs for students with

disabilities

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Strategy

8Create a

centralized resource for reasonable

accommodations

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Strategy

9Select a partner: Disability service

providers

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Strategy

10 The New Jersey

Business Leadership Network

Visit www.njbln.org

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OK…Let’s talk

Module 2 Activity: Taking disability inclusiveness

strategies for a test run

1. Count off by 8

2. Each small group gets a flipchart page with a scenario

3. As a group, work through the scenario for about 20 minutes (Using either markers or stickies)

4. Return to large group for debrief

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OK…Let’s talk

Large group debrief1. What strategy did you adopt?

2. What might be a first step?

3. What partners might you need?

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Module 3:Outside the Organization—Building

partnerships & collaborations

What’s one thing you’ll do after leaving this workshop?

What are some possible partnerships to help you

accomplishing this in your business/organization?

Informational interviews:

“Informational Interview” one

disability service provider

“Informational interview” one

employer

Getting HRCI Credits for this workshopUse code:

Getting HRCI Credits for this workshopUse code:

Getting HRCI Credits for this workshopUse code:

ORG-PROGRAM-48673