What Does Culture Have to Do With It? Tools to Increase Disability

Disclosure and Inclusion

Wendy Strobel GowerJudy Young

Yang - Tan Institute on Employment and DisabilityILR School

Cornell University

American Association for Access, Equity & Diversity2016 National Conference and Annual Meeting

June 9, 20162

Agenda

The evolution of workplace diversity and inclusion

Why organizational culture and climate matter

The role of managers in building a maintaining adisability inclusive workplace culture

Bridging the knowing – doing gap: the JIT program

From inclusive culture to compliance: the newSection 503 and VEVRAA regulations

Measuring your efforts: a self-assessment tool tobenchmark disability inclusive workplace practices

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Evolution of Diversity at Work

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• Sensitivity training• Motivational and

demographic interventions• Accountability interventions• Diversity professionals• Mentor programs• Addressing workplace

climate

Lessons from the Broader Diversity Field

Socially diverse groups are: • More innovative than

homogeneous groups• Better at solving complex

problems• More creative• Correlated with higher

performance5

Disability Inclusion

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Including people with disabilities in everyday activities and encouraging them to have roles similar to their peers who do not have disabilities is disability inclusion

What is Culture?

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Culture is a broad term that refers to

shared values, beliefs, and word

views of an organization

Culture Matters

How people feel about disability disclosure is not predicted by whether a person has an obvious or non-obvious disability

Nishii, L., & Bruyère, S. (2014)

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Culture Matters

When employees with disabilities work within departments in which employees overall feel supported and fairly treated they are more likely to feel “safe” about disclosing their disability

Nishii, L., & Bruyère, S. (2014). Inside the workplace: Case studies of factors influencing engagement of people with disabilities. Research Brief. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Employment and Disability Institute.

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Workplace ClimateOrganizational climate refers to aspects of the emotional and social tone of everyday life in the workplaceIt predicts employee behavior around:• Engagement• Performance• Productivity• Innovation• Willingness to learn

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Organizational Climate

Is constantly maintained and negotiated during lived experiences of your managers and employees.

Top leaders play a large role in setting standards around organizational climate.

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Climate is Reinforced in Everyday Hiring Decisions

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• Who gets hired is apowerful statementof the commitmentof the organization

• Hiring goals shouldsupport theorganization youwould like to have

The Workplace Climate: The whispers speak louder than the words

Just get over it

Who knows what she might do!

You don’t see me asking for

favors

She just wants special

treatment

He’s just lazy!

He’s really weird

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Building Trust

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• Clear messaging

• Clear and continuoussupport of the messagethrough the actions ofagents of the company

• Reward based on elementsof culture and climate theorganization wants tosupport

Leading in a Disability Inclusive Environment

The Just-in-Time Toolkit for Managers

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Our original question:The ADA: Necessary, but not sufficient?

What’s going on within the organization?

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Does knowing equal doing?

?What interventions work?

Renewed Interest in Disability as Part of Diversity

Business needs

Regulatory changes

Social change

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Role of Managers

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• Face to face leaders set the tonefor organizational climate and foremployee engagement

• Managers must be trained onworking with and supporting allemployees including those withdisabilities• Why is disability good for our

business?• How do I support development

of an inclusive workplace?

Managers are critical players in building a disability inclusive culture

Managers decide:• Who gets recruited• Who gets hired• Who gets coached• Who gets terminated• Who gets included• Who gets promoted• Who gets accommodated

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Managers/Supervisors: Key Gatekeepers of Inclusion

What are their “lives” like (Osterman, 2008)• More direct reports• Fewer resources• Ever-increasing productivity expectations• Complex and rapidly changing business conditions• Increasingly must lead remotely

A “forgotten” and misunderstood role, but a very important one (Beck & Harter, 2014;HCI, 2010)

Often not rewarded for diversity/inclusion efforts (SHRM, 2012)

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Clearly there is a need to switch gearsA knowing—doing gap

From…Information dissemination

To…Changing organizational cultures

Traditional training (Information dump all at once)

Situated learning—Learning when doing

Emphasis on legal compliance An emphasis on making the case

One-time event Sustained effort, “churn” proof

Focus on HR or business leaders Focus on real-life leaders (managers/supervisors)

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The Just-in-Time Program

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The right knowledge to the right person at the right time in

the right way…

What does research tell us about effective disability inclusion practices?

Successful approaches to enhance disability inclusion:• Provide on-going support to those

who implement policy• Provide a clear and compelling

case• Provide information and support

when and where it is needed• Are customized to the company’s

culture and business goals.

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The Just-in-Time Program

• Situated learning framework• Blended learning• Designed for

managers/supervisors• Customizable• “Scaffolded” and portable

learning approach

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The Just-in-Time Toolkit is a two-part package:

Leading in a Disability Inclusive Workplace: The Just-in-Time Toolkit for Managers

The Just in Time Toolkit

• 10 online tools• Customized to client organization through

collaborative process• Easy access site usage report

Implementation Strategy

• Message formation• Plan for Dissemination• 2 options for Development• Consultation• Limited consultation and facilitated strategy

session

How can the Just-in-Time Toolkit reach managers and supervisors?

The toolkit is adapted to the life

of a manager.

Plain language

tools

Based on situations

and dilemmas faced by

managers

Includes legal,

human, and practical

issues

Designed to be used in

support of your on-going organizational

efforts

Each tool can be

used in 10 minutes or

less

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Purpose of the Just-in-Time Toolkit

To ensure the dissemination of the organizations message around disability as part of diversity

To support managers and supervisors in their implementation of organizational policies and practices around disability

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Evaluation: Lessons learned from case analysis

What works…• Reaching managers• Situated learning• Customizing• Portability• Integrating legal, human and

practical issues• Including veterans

What we need to change…• Respond to disability inclusion

efforts that are still in flux• Integrate JIT program into

organization’s learning &communications ecology

• Respond to constantly changingkey players

• Plan for JIT “Drift”• Getting managers to recognize a

“disability” issue28

Evaluation: Lessons learned from core group survey

What works…• Blended approach is needed:

Value of getting beyond “sprayand pray”

• Core group members satisfiedwith the in-person program

• Strategy-building segments mosthelpful

What we need to change…• Core group may not reach those

who are best disseminators ofJIT program

• One session will not be enough• More on-going attention to JIT

implementation needed• More “high-touch” needed

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It’s a New Day for Compliance

September 24, 2013 – USDOL/OFCCP published final rules for Section 503 and VEVRAA to:• decrease the underutilization of protected veterans and

people with disabilities in the federal contractorworkforce

• develop a system to compiling data on workforceparticipation of these special emphasis groups

• align Section 503 with the broader definitionsestablished by the ADA Amendments Act

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Reasons for Changes to 503

• Unemployment rate for working age people with disabilities - 15% compared to 8% for same group without disabilities

• 4 out of 5 people with disabilities are out of the labor force entirely; have stopped looking for work

• Eliminate policies and practices which are barriers to employment: fresh look at minimum qualifications and essential functions of the job

• Replace “Good Faith Efforts” with real actionable metrics for better employment outcomes

• Mantra: What gets measured gets done32

Section 503: Provisions• Establishes 7% utilization goal in all job groups

• No penalty for not meeting utilization goal

• Mandates tracking of applicants and hires annually

• Requires record keeping and annual assessment for outreach and recruitment and the implementation of corrective action if efforts fail to meet utilization goal

• Written notification of AA effort and incorporation of EO Clause to be sent to subcontractors, vendors and suppliers

• Mandated self- identification form developed by OFCCP which must be used pre-and post-offer and every 5 years

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Self-Identification Form

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Overview of VEVRAA

• Covered veterans are defined as protected veterans: recently separated, active duty wartime or campaign badge, service medal awardees

• Contractors must provide vacancy announcements to state/local employment delivery systems and specifically request priority referrals of protected veterans for available positions

• Requires self-identification of vet status pre-offer and specific vet category post-offer; suggested form by OFCCP

• No surveys are required 35

Veterans Benchmark

Benchmark is set annually based on either:• National percentage of veterans in the civilian labor force as

per BLS, currently set at 7%• Contractor’s unique hiring circumstances, such as: Number of veterans participating in the state Employment

Delivery Systems Applicant to hiring ratio for the previous year Contractor self-assessment of the effectiveness of external

outreach and recruitment other factors, including the nature of the contractor’s job

openings and/or its location

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Measuring Your EffortsThe BenchmarkABILITY Tool

• Developed by YTI as part of a 5-year research project to explore employer practices and policies

• Aimed to promote the representation of employees with disabilities, including veterans

• Designed as a self-assessment tool to promote disability inclusive workplaces

• Funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research

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FAQ Page

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K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability

Cornell University, ILR School201 Dolgen HallIthaca, NY 14853

Phone: 607-255-7727Fax: 607-255-2763Email: ilr_yti@cornell.eduWeb: http://yti.cornell.edu/

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