Persons with Disabilities (PWD) are chief among labor resources.
Many business leaders are aware that looming on the not-so-distant horizon is a shortage of qualified workers. Thinking outside of the box, an increasing number of employers are turning to non-traditional sources of labor. Chief among those labor sources is persons with disabilities (PWD), the fastest growing segment and most widely overlooked employable minority of our population. Companies such as McDonald's, Walgreens, PepsiCo., Northern Trust Corporation, Aon, UPS, Banana Republic, Rush University Medical Center and Deloitte recognize that employing PWD is good for their bottom line.
…overwhelmingly positive attitudes among 92% of American consumers toward socially responsible companies, and in particular toward those that hire individuals with disabilities… improve the company's brand image.
Diversity: Skills and Spending Power
People who experience a disability:
Have proved to be dependable, dedicated, hardworking and productive.
Are efficient, target-based and may often enjoy routine-based tasks.
Can be technology innovators because they have had to learn to be creative in performing tasks and overcoming challenges.
Often will impart a "Culture of Humor" into the workforce.
Will assist in increasing community awareness that your company is a disability-friendly business.
Top 5 Reasons to Hire People with Disabilities
People with disabilities have equal or higher job performance ratings, higher retention rates, and lower absenteeism.
Employees with disabilities can relate better to customers with disabilities, who represent $1 trillion in annual aggregate consumer spending.
Diverse work groups can create better solutions to business challenges.
Companies that hire and accommodate people with disabilities in their workplaces can receive tax benefits.
Employing people with disabilities is good for the individual, the business, and society. This is a "win–win–win" strategy.
Accommodations
We have put together some resources to assist you in accomodating your employee's.
Need information about how to accomodate an employee with a disability. The following website is one of the best resources available. The Job Accomodation Network or JAN is a free consulting service designed to increase the employability of people with disabilities by:
In our work with employers we have developed a few tools that we have found useful both to them and to those advocating with them. We have found the following information helpful in both the hiring and job development process.