The ABC’s to Becoming “A Business that’s Competitive and Compliant”

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The National Employment Team (NET)

Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation

• Membership organization of VR Directors• 80 agencies: every state, territories, D.C.• Federal/State funded $3.5 billion• 25,000 staff• Serve one million people with disabilities annually• Partnered with the VA-VR&E, AIR

– Largest talent pool of people with disabilities in the country – Backed by support of VR leadership, staff and 10,000

community partners.

33 3

We Asked Our Business Customers

• National in Scope• Dual Customer Model• Customer Driven Network• VR as One Company• Easily Accessible Network: work with the national

VR network through a single point of contact– VR Points of Contact– VR Systems: Veterans VR&E , AIR– Community Partners

• Leveraging the Strengths of a National System Through Delivery at the Local Level

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The Bottom Line for Business Customers

The foundation of the NET must be built on:– Trust– Responsiveness– Deliverability– Consistency– Quality – Sustainability– A Customer Driven Approach

• The bottom line – DELIVER WHAT YOU COMMIT TO

55 5

The NET: Vision Statement

To create a “one company” model to serve business

customers through a national VR team that

specializes in employer development, business

consulting and corporate relations.

66 6

The NET: BenefitsDefined by Customer Category

• Businesses have direct access to the qualified candidates and support services provided by State VR agencies and their community partners on a national basis.

• VR consumers have access to career development resources, “real time” employer input and national employment opportunities.

• State VR agencies have a national system for sharing employment resources, best practices and business connections.

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• Pre-Employment• Internships• Training

• HR/Staffing • Recruitment & Promotion• Benefits & Compensation• Retention Supports• Employee Advisory

Services • Accommodations

• Work Site Assessment• Assistive Technology

• Staff Training• Disability Awareness• ADA/Employment Laws

• Diversity Programs• EEOC/Affirmative Action

• Universal Design• Contracts• Facilities• Programs/Services• Assistive Technology • Information Technology

• Financial Supports• WOTC• Barrier Removal

• Legal & Compliance• Labor Relations • Policy Development• Risk Management

• Product Development• Customer Service• Marketing & Outreach

7

The NET:VR Business ServicesDefined by Business Customers

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• The NET – USBLN Partner of the Year

• President’s Executive Order–Federal Agencies

• The Rehabilitation Act, Section 503–Federal Contractors

• OFCCP Relationship• TAP: Talent Acquisition Portal

Trends and Developments

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IBM Disability Employment BackgroundIBM’s commitment to diversity - drives innovation and competitive differentiation

1980s1960 / 1970s1950 /

1960s

1990s

1914

20002001

2009 and Beyond

Market-driven

Philanthropic

Legislative

Hired first disabled employee

Early adoption of disability benefits (1947) Corporate mandate:

All IBM IT to be usable by PwD

Open Standards: IA2 and WAI-Aria

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Current Accommodation Best Practices

• Well-defined accessibility standards supported by training and tools

• Accessibility integrated into planning, procurement, development, and communications

• Required annual EO training for all employees

Holistic accommodation approach:– Considers technology, environment, job

responsibilities– Multi-disciplinary teams (line management, HR,

medical, IT, legal, real-estate ops, etc.) Costs charged at division, not department level Separation of duties in accommodation processes

(decisions owned by HR, not line management)

Harness unique powers of diversity to create a smarter workforce - ultimately, a Smarter Planet, for

all• Enable PwD competitive productivity with comprehensive/effective accommodations• Part of ensuring PwD equal opportunity to advance and contribute

Diversity Objective

Public Accommodations Personal Accommodations

Consistent, Global Implementation

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Current Accommodation Best Practices: Measuring Success

• Example measures used to determine success of employment programs:– Hiring, retention, and advancement rates– Standards conformance measurements

(e.g., % compliant applications or buildings)

• Enables well-managed programs to make incremental progress

• But does not provide insight into PwDs’ view of barriers and their causes

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Addressing Accommodation Challenges

• Understanding accommodation challenges– Difficult due to privacy requirements, individual sensitivity,

cultural variations– Can be biased by the views of the vocal few– True barriers to PwD productivity are not fully understood

• Studying the problem– Targeted, anonymous surveys of PwDs – e.g. in IBM we

reached 300+ PwDs in 23 countries– Focus groups – e.g. in IBM we leverage our IBM Diversity

Network Groups– In-depth studies – e.g. in IBM we conducted enterprise-wide

studies performed by experts using virtual teams like IBM Academy of Technology

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Addressing Accommodation Challenges: Findings from IBM Surveys & Studies

• In spite of strong accommodation policy and programs, IBMers believe their competitive productivity has been hampered by under-accommodation– A global challenge– More significant in areas outside North America,

some parts of Europe / Japan

• Causes: – Excessively time consuming for PwD & Mgr to …

• Understand accommodation policies and processes• Identify who is responsible for helping with various issues• Identify most appropriate accommodation solutions• Find or hire expert advice• Order, install, and configure

– Inappropriately low expectations of PwD productivity– PwD concerned about being perceived as a burden– Keeping accommodations current seen as too risky and/or too costly

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Addressing Accommodation Challenges: Understanding the Issue

PublicAccommodations

PersonalAccommodations

Before

PwDs

Without an integrated process incorporating customer perspective, PwD are less productive as they struggle to understand the organizational view, making acquiring accommodations and solving accommodation problems more difficult.

PublicAccommodations

PersonalAccommodations

After

PwDs

Integrated

Process

Having an integrated process makes the process of identifying and procuring public or personal accommodations easier, consistent and more efficient, thereby improving PwDs’ productivity.

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Contact Information

John W. EvansBusiness Development ExecutiveWorldwide Human Ability and Accessibility CenterIBM Research

401-276-5185

Evansjw @us.ibm.comwww.ibm.com/able

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Contact Information

Kathy West-Evans, MPA, CRCDirector of Business RelationsThe National Employment Team (The NET)Council of State Administrators of Vocational

Rehabilitation (CSAVR) 206.999.9455Kwest-evans@rehabnetwork.orgwww.rehabnetwork.org

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Contact Information

Beth Butler, Esq.Leaves & AccommodationsLowe’s Companies, Inc.1000 Lowe’s BlvdMooresville, NC 28117704-758-3276Beth.a.Butler-1@lowes.com