How to Make Your Company More Appealing to Workers With Disabilities
Guest Post Article, Submitted By: Kimberly Hayes
As a business owner or manager, you know how vital attracting and retaining qualified employees is. However, it can be easy to overlook potential candidates who have disabilities. Whether due to unconscious bias or a lack of awareness of making your workplace accessible, you could be missing out on top-tier team members who could take your organization to new heights.
With a few structural changes and incentives, you can develop a more inclusive workplace that benefits individuals who have suffered a stroke or live with disabilities and everyone else. Let's discuss some strategies for attracting new hires with disabilities.
Offering Compensated Job Skills Assessments
To make your company more appealing to job candidates with disabilities, you must ensure that your job requirements match their abilities. One way to achieve this is to offer compensated job skills assessments.
These assessments not only help people with disabilities understand their strengths and limitations but also show that your company is committed to hiring and promoting employees based on their skills — not their disabilities. It also puts your company in a better position to meet affirmative action requirements.
Creating a New Job Candidate Brochure
A brochure can highlight your company's commitment to diversity and inclusion. Just be sure to include information on how your organization accommodates employees with disabilities and any disability-specific support programs. Chron suggests using clear, accessible language and images when designing the brochure. Also, consider it an opportunity to showcase any awards or recognition your business has received for its inclusivity.
When creating a new job candidate brochure, an online tool can help you develop a professional and polished brand that reflects your identity. Many platforms offer customizable templates and user-friendly features, making it easy to create your online logo design in a way that represents your skills and experience. A visually appealing logo adds a touch of professionalism to your brochure, helping you stand out to potential employers and giving your brand a cohesive look across all your materials.
Updating Your Website To Work With Assistive Devices
It’s safe to say that your website is the first point of contact for many potential employees, so you want to ensure it’s accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities. Website Builder Expert advises updating your website to work with assistive technologies like screen readers, magnifiers, and braille displays.
You must ensure all your images have alternative text and your video content has closed captioning. You can also leverage accessibility landing pages that explain how users can navigate your site with assistive devices.
Rewriting Your Job Descriptions To Be More Inclusive
Job descriptions can be unintentionally exclusive if they rely on specific physical or cognitive abilities. For example, if you’re looking for a receptionist, you might require the individual to “answer phones quickly and pleasantly.“
However, not everyone can answer phones quickly, whether they have suffered a stroke or have a disability that impacts their reaction time. Instead, consider rewriting the job description to focus on what’s essential for the role.
Cultivating an Inclusive Work Culture
Finally, perhaps most importantly, you must cultivate an inclusive work environment. This means that your policies, practices, and culture should welcome and support employees with disabilities. And it must do so in a natural way.
Consider starting a disability resource group that covers disability-related topics and employee training. Also, prioritize diversity and inclusion training sessions. Be sure to recognize the contributions of all employees and create opportunities for people with disabilities to learn and grow in the company.
Conclusion
Attracting and retaining employees with disabilities requires a commitment to diversity and inclusion. By offering job skills assessments, making your website accessible, and following the other tips above, you can demonstrate your organization’s commitment to hiring the best candidates.
Your efforts will benefit your business and contribute to building a more inclusive society at large. When making these changes, remember to actively seek feedback from the disability community, including existing employees with disabilities. This will help ensure that the changes you’re implementing meet their needs.
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