Evenbreak has come across an organisation just starting up in the UK which can help organisations with their onboarding of newly disabled employees. This is what they have to say…
Onboarding Disabled Talent
4 attitudes that set companies up for failure.
Many companies have set out to not only discuss inclusion but to start actively recruiting talent from the disabled workforce in 2023. And while sourcing talented individuals has become easier through organisations like Evenbreak, the onboarding process for both company and talented disabled individuals can still feel riddled with obstacles discouraging both parties.
In this article, we will share how, over the last year, Haven Project has developed a process to help smooth the road for companies and individuals alike.
Let’s begin with the problems and actions we have observed: Most companies want to do too much inclusion too soon, but we have identified the four most company attitudes towards working with disabled talent.
The first company is shooting for the stars
Set out with the mindset that everything in their business needed to change to make it a viable workplace for disabled talent. They will discuss plans such as adding another entrance or building a custom workspace, driving up the cost of accommodation to un-scalable amounts.
The second is the money saver, but a time spender
This company dove head-first into information about government subsidies, rules, and regulations and quickly was frustrated by the complex, weary application processes and wait times spanning more than six months to get a positive result or, in the worst case, a rejection.
Discouraging the company and the candidate even though they are both happy to have found a good fit.
The third is the chance givers
If the first two examples are proactive, the third type of company is the company that waits for the first person with a disability to apply, and because they see it as an excellent fit skill-wise, they give it a good old try. Relying on the disabled talent to figure it out, both parties realise that there are too many obstacles for talent to shine and work to get done.
The fourth is the “that’s possible?”
The company doesn’t see the disabled workforce as a talent pool.
What do the first three have in common?
A strong desire and good intentions result in the task of making onboarding disabled talent more complex than it needs to be. The fourth, well, for the sake of the article, we’ll leave it as simply unaware of what competitive advantage they are missing out on.
How can we help these companies?
The first thing we want to achieve is clarity. We clear up the misinformation, such as that accommodations are costly and that disabled candidates are less able or attractive, in short, but sweet keynotes aimed at shifting the perspective from “hiring inclusively is an endeavour that will be difficult to do” to “this is an investment that will provide a competitive advantage, a more effective work environment, and deepen the trust of our future employees.”
The second is to focus
For companies who are ready to hire disabled talent, we provide focus on where to start the journey, which is not by attempting to be inclusive for everyone right away and instead to see this as a progressive process.
Our team does this by working with a small group of client employees, discussing and conducting an analysis of the goals, open positions, existing processes required to work effectively, and the environment in which the work will be done. With the gathered information, our team can develop project recommendations, and a talent ability profile, and suggest a prioritisation (an effective approach) of adjustments.
These projects can consist of but are not limited to:
— Providing and implementing the best accessibility tools, such as assistive technology, in your existing work processes
— Developing additional onboarding resources
— Adjusting existing material to be accessible
— Adjusting the onboarding process to allow remote and in-person— Empowering teams with the knowledge and support they need to be inclusive
— Specific Recruiting Campaigns
— An intranet resource to re-educate each department on best practices.
The third step is a guided process
Once the client has agreed to which of the suggested projects to execute first, we shift our efforts to project management and work on tasks as an additional team. This is how we assist the company in the swift execution of the adjustments without disrupting the company’s daily business.
From preparing your business for hiring disabled talent to talent successfully working at your organisation, we have built our knowledge, experience, and network to take the uncertainty out of the process and provide scalable solutions with every step of the way. Leaving the doors open for many more to come.
Haven Project has already helped companies across the globe become more accessible as well as onboard their disabled talent; in less than four months, we are proud to be able to start offering our services in the UK and honoured to count Evenbreak among our network of partner solutions.
