Hiring People with Disabilities: How You Can Effect Change
Hiring individuals with disabilities is more popular than ever before. Companies around the county are willing to speak about the success they’ve had with employees and the public is starting to notice the amazing retention rates and other benefits of hiring people with disabilities. It’s hard to believe that even 10-15 years ago people with disabilities were not as accepted in the work place.
Now that has changed. How can your company keep up? How can you recruit individuals with disabilities in 2016?
There are many ways to recruit people with disabilities, but it may seem overwhelming at first. What can you say in an interview? Can you ask about a disability? If you’re feeling like you could use some assistance, think about reaching out to a local nonprofit or government agency to assist with the process. It’s truly the easiest way to start hiring people with disabilities. Depending on the organization you work with, you could be there through the whole process, from the initial interview to a 90-day check in to see how things are going on the job. It’s also a great way for your business to learn about best practices and ask questions. Check out this previous Blogging4Jobs post solely dedicated to this topic for more information.
What about starting an internship program for people with disabilities at your business? That could be another great way for your company to build best practices and see what accommodations work for specific job sites. The U.S. Department of Labor created a wonderful resource for creating internship programs called Inclusive Internship Programs: a How-To Guide for Employers. To highlight a few main points, the guide discusses the benefits to both employers and students, how to create an inclusive internship program, how to implement the program in your business and how to evaluate its success. The guide is extremely insightful, even if your company is not creating an internship program. You can read the whole guide online here.
The U.S. Department of Labor has another great resource for employers called the Workforce Recruitment Program. This program is also for college students or recent graduates- it pairs them with a federal or private sector employer nationwide. The Workforce Recruitment Program has a database full of candidates that goes live every December. Registered employers have access to resumes, conduct interviews, the ability to offer temporary or fulltime positions and more across the entire nation! This could be a very helpful resource to your company, as candidates are pre-screened based on their ability. You could find the perfect fit without much effort. To learn more about the Workforce Recruitment Program, visit their website.
If you’re interested in hiring adults with disabilities but don’t know where to begin, a great resource is the Employment Assistance and Resource Network or EARN. EARN is an amazing website featuring all things disability and employment from disability laws to what’s legal in recruiting. There hasn’t been a disability question that I couldn’t find the answer to on the EARN website. For businesses trying to learn the ins and outs of disability employment, check out the Recruiting & Hiring Page on the website.
It’s easier than you think to start recruiting people with disabilities at your business. Any of the suggestions above would be a great place to start! It’s not how you begin, it’s that you start to make a difference. Don’t let your company fall behind, start recruiting people with disabilities today- you won’t be disappointed!
Source: Blogging4jobs.com