By developing an understanding of the employment accessibility barriers people with disabilities face, employers will become better able to attract, engage and retain this diverse talent.

Factors for building EDI (equity, diversity and inclusion) success:

• Flexibility
• Accommodations
• Culture
• Psychological health and safety

Although many employers and HR professionals identify EDI as areas in which they lack confidence and skills, the recruitment of workers with disabilities can help fast-track collaborative, experiential learning.   

Most employers were pushed into some degree of direct experiential learning around recruitment and interview alternatives as well as workplace accommodation throughout 2020/2021. This helped employers learn about the different ways that work can effectively be done. Employer flexibility with regard to things like work schedules, time off, increased mentorship or alteration to certain work tasks is a growing expectation in the workforce and can help businesses attract and retain the talent they seek. 

Attracting Talent

Disrupt the status quo! Challenging ourselves to think and act differently about recruitment can help improve results in attracting more diverse talent. 

Seek new talent pools, make diversity a priority and consider changing or adding to the standards used to evaluate candidates. Adding items such as overcoming challenges, new perspectives, and problem-solving ability to desired skillsets can help employers to see value in diverse candidates.  

Demonstrate your company’s value for a diverse and inclusive workplace. Create and share an EDI statement - a simple acknowledgment such as:

We respect and value diversity within our customer base and reflect diversity and inclusion within our workplace culture. Inclusion of diverse groups in the workplace is seen by leadership as a sustainable workforce strategy and a way to remain adaptive and resilient. Behaviors which compromise this strategy are viewed as a business liability.

Develop clear, short-term goals and commitments focused on the priorities which match your business’s recruitment needs and available resources. An assessment of where you are now in terms of diversity and inclusion can help inform where you want to be in 3 months – or 3 years.   

Attracting Talent through Partnerships

Statistics clearly show that job seekers from many diverse groups face barriers to accessing employment and get screened out before reaching the interview stage. Canada’s Employment Equity Act has resulted in the public funding of organizations that assist diversity groups gain employment. They also help employers to source and onboard diverse talent. Hire for Talent hosts a Service Provider Directory to help employers find service providers near them.

Tips for Disability Diversity Recruitment  

• Develop job posts using plain language and focus on essential duties.
• Use the Accessibility Checker in Microsoft Word when developing job posts.
• Offer a direct contact alternative when Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) present barriers.
• Set targets for number of diversity-based interviews when new positions come up.
• Describe interviews to candidates in advance.
• Offer accommodations for interviews if required – consider accessibility.
• Interview candidates with disabilities to build your disability-confidence.
• Provide informational or mentorship-based interviews to jobseekers with disabilities.
• Send your job postings to disability-based employment services.
• Connect with regional, provincial or national disability employment networks.

Mentorship

Mentorship is always a powerful tool in the onboarding, training and orientation of any new employee. In general, employees learn at work in two ways:

1. Work routines 
2. Social learning through interactions with co-workers 

Assigning a designated mentor is a valuable resource in new employee learning. Set clear expectations for mentors and monitor to ensure those expectations are being met. Mentorship and coaching also supports a strengths-based approach and promotes better teamwork.

Effective training and orientation of new employees is the single biggest factor in their retention – and is an important investment for any workplace. 

Create a More Inclusive and Accessible Workplace through Inclusive Design and Strengths-Based Employment

It is a best practice in inclusive workplaces to consider, and where possible implement, inclusive design and strengths-based employment. These are inclusive practices which help workplaces to create an environment and culture that highlights the skills and capacities of all employees. 

A strengths-based employment approach can be considered an enhancement or alternative to workplace accommodation for job duties. A strengths-based approach requires leaders to explore the talents and strengths employees are using at work – or could be using at work. Job duties can then be altered somewhat to utilize more of the employee’s strengths (and, where possible, removing or reassigning duties they don’t excel at).

This approach also brings significant benefits to a workplace including productivity, engagement, and retention