Special Article

Employment is a Critical Factor with DDQ

By John Kemp [view bio]
Disability rights advocate and principal at Powers, Pyle, Sutter and Verville, P.C.

It's no secret that American businesses are preparing for what will be one of the greatest challenges of the 21 st century. After enjoying the fruitful labors of the baby boom generation, companies are faced with a continuously shrinking workforce and lingering questions on where they will find the human resources needed to continue to grow and perform. Nonetheless, as with any challenge, this dynamic can be viewed as an opportunity rather than a crisis. True, you may not be able to find an abundant supply of qualified employees in the places you are used to looking -- What a perfect time to tap into those resources you may have overlooked!

In our previous articles discussing DDQ – Disability Diversity Quotient [see Article 1 and Article 2] - we have touched upon the changing face of the disability community and the many benefits that come with employing individuals with disabilities. But what is the real basis of the opportunity here, and what concrete measures can your business take to ensure that you are maximizing all of the members of your workforce? The idea of increasing diversity as a successful business strategy is certainly not a new phenomenon but only recently have we begun to see documented success resulting from concerted efforts to diversify a company's workforce not only in terms of ethnicity, but in terms of age and disability as well.

One trailblazer in this area has been IBM, whose efforts and experiences were recently chronicled in the September 2004 edition of the Harvard Business Review . Charged with expanding its customer base as well as growing its workforce, the business leadership at IBM adopted a comprehensive and sweeping strategy to expand its presence in minority markets by increasing diversity amongst its own employees. The company initially started by forming a number of task forces with only two requirements for members in each group: the person had to be at an executive level and had to be a member of the task force's target constituency. In other words, in order to be on the task force examining people with disabilities, each member had to be a current executive level employee with a disability. By doing so, IBM not only ensured that the task force discussions addressed real issues rather than hypothetical concerns based upon stereotypes, but it also forced the group to address the diversity within the minority group itself. Even within these narrowed “categories” there was a tremendous difference in opinions on how people wanted to be treated or how sensitive subjects should be addressed. By recognizing this early on, IBM avoided cookie cutter solutions that would not have effectively connected with the diverse markets and employees that IBM was seeking to touch.

Considered risky at first, IBM's approach has been a proven success, with employee representation of some minority groups increasing four and five times. The company has not only greatly expanded its presence in more diverse markets, but it has increased the quality of its workforce as well. To some extent, this approach seems almost obvious. By casting a wider net that reached into groups previously overlooked, IBM was able to significantly increase its pool of candidates for new employment and promotion, which in turn allowed it to collect the “cream” of this abundant crop!

Certainly, IBM is not the only corporation who has chosen to lead its workforce in this new direction, and the number of companies that recognize the importance of enhancing their workforce with new demographic groups is increasing by the day. So, what can a business do to ensure that its efforts will be successful once they have chosen to venture down the diversity path and are exploring employment of more individuals with disabilities? Of course there is no universal answer here, but one potential approach lies in addressing issues at two separate levels: first, you must ensure that the employee is accommodated in such a fashion that he or she can be effective and productive in their new position and second, you should educate your existing employees, especially managers, so that they can appreciate the unique benefits that may come from operations that they may view as “non-traditional”.

First and foremost, an employee with a disability is most likely to maximize his potential contribution to the workplace if an employer strives to make the most appropriate accommodation possible. Accommodation needs not be extravagant or expensive, and often times simply allowing the company to “think outside the box” will yield significant results. Certainly, advancing technologies has made integration into the workforce an even more plausible reality for individuals with disabilities. For instance, research has consistently shown that reliable transportation is one of the obstacles to employment that is most frequently cited by individuals with physical disabilities. However, with the emerging phenomenon of telecommuting and videoconferencing, the physical presence of an employee in a common workplace may be less necessary for the individual to accomplish his or her work. Such a setup need not be any more expensive or difficult than the resources afforded to able-bodied employees and can, in many cases, be achieved with an internet accessible computer and a small webcam. Similarly, individuals who may not have previously been able to access business necessities, such as the internet, due to functional disabilities, including hearing or vision impairments, may now be assisted by easily accessible tools such as a screen reader. Technology is developing at such a quick pace, it is tough to envision a disability that could not be overcome through some form of accommodation. Therefore, businesses should not be discouraged from dipping their toes into this “new” pool of employee resources. Quite the contrary- they should be diving in head first!

Additionally, in order for an employee with a disability to be utilized to his or her full potential, the other members of an employer's workforce must be educated in a fashion that allows them to appreciate the differences that may be present in how a co-worker operates without equating this with “special” treatment or lessened expectations. Getting back to basics, it is a fundamental principle within the human resources world that each employee in an organization is unique, and that each person is going to have strengths and weaknesses that must be addressed in order for the employee to maximize his or her potential within an organization. Minor changes can be made to how a manager communicates with an employee or how work often functions in a way that takes advantage of a particular employee's strong suits. Businesses have increasingly embraced such “accommodations” for non-disabled employees for decades. So why do we view it so differently when we allow alternatives for individuals with disabilities? In fact, we are just doing the same for this group of employees that we would do for any other- recognizing strengths and weaknesses and accounting for them in our treatment of that employee. Unfortunately, other employees do not always immediately recognize this fact, and common stereotypes often frame the treatment of individuals with disabilities. Employees with disabilities certainly do not expect that an organization will expect any less of them because they may operate somewhat differently, and a business that does not educate its managers to create an environment where accommodations are recognized but not viewed as “special” or burdensome will often fail in its efforts to integrate this population into the general workforce. Individuals with disabilities should be given the same benefits and expectations as any other employee because they are not, in fact, any different than any other member of your team.

So, how does all of this fit into assessing your DDQ? The questions you should ask yourself are simple, but they should be viewed as a starting point rather than an end solution:

1. How many individuals with disabilities does my company currently employ? If it is only a handful of people, why is that the case?
2. What are my perceptions of employees with disabilities? Have I made incorrect assumptions about the obstacles to hiring and utilizing this resource group?
3. What obstacles do I perceive to incorporating more individuals with disabilities into my workforce? Would further research yield a solution to these perceived problems?
4. How are my company's behaviors shaping the opinions of managers and employees? Are we doing anything to educate them on the facts about individuals with disabilities?
5. How could a new group of potential employees benefit my organization? What opportunities am I missing because I have overlooked this group?

I encourage you to consider these points at the individual as well as institutional level. As was the case at IBM, it is often the self-awareness and idea of one person that can lead an entire organization into a new success. We hope this discussion will help you take the first step in a new direction or further your journey along the path if this is a road you have already discovered. In the coming newsletters we will continue to build on some of these fundamental questions and lead you to maximize your organization's DDQ!

John D. Kemp is a long-time disability rights advocate and principal at Powers, Pyle, Sutter and Verville, P.C. Please direct questions for John to info@disability-marketing.com.