The Business Case

There are sound business reasons to recruit a diverse workforce:

It gives an employer access to the widest pool of skills and an opportunity to enrich the workforce. There are potential cost savings from reduced staff turnover and improved attendance. It demonstrates to all your staff that you value them and are concerned for their individual development and welfare.

It portarys a positive corporate image - both internally and externally. If you can get things right for your employees then you've gone a long way to getting it right for your customers. Disabled consumers have a combined spending power of Ł60 billion per annum and for ethnic minorities the figure is estimated to be Ł32 billion.

Diversity management adds an extra dimension to your company's equal opportunities procedures. A diverse team is a team in which every member of staff regardless of their age, gender, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and regardless of how they operate, or what they look like are valued as an individual and not as a member of a group. There are sound business arguments in favour of recruiting a workforce that represents the local communities in which the organisation operates.

Diversity management moves on a considerable step further than equal opportunity and does not rely upon positive action. Today, we expect all businesses and organisations to promote equal opportunity in the workplace and indeed to have policy statements that reflect the principles of equality.

Managing Diversity	Equal Opportunities
Ensures all employees maximise their potential and their contribution to the organization	Concentrates on issues of discrimination
No one is excluded	Perceived as an issue for women, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities
Concentrates on issues of movement within an organisation, the culture of the organisation, and the meeting of business objectives	Less of an emphasis on culture change and a meeting of business objectives
A concern for all employees, especially managers	Seen as an issue to do with personnel and human resource practitioners
Does not rely on positive or affirmative action	Relies on positive action

Equal treatment originally centred around women in the workplace having the same opportunities as males in terms of jobs and pay levels. It is fair to say that these values and initiatives have in most cases been embraced. Rarely do we see a job vacancy advertised without the organisation reminding us that they are an "equal opportunity employer", usually now coupled with the "positive to disabled" two ticks symbol.

With the introduction of further legislation on disability and race issues there have been extensions to equal treatments policies. Many public and private organisations and businesses show positive results with examples of good practice, procedure and the improvement of policies. This in turn leads to some of the barriers into employment faced by certain disadvantaged groups being addressed in a positive way. Embracing Diversity in the workplace concerns and involves everyone.

There are sound human reasons for employing disabled workers:

Disabled people are often marginalised by society because of what they can't do, ignoring what they can do. The people with disabilities who we support actually want to work and to make a real contribution. A job in the open market gives disabled people more self-esteem, more social contact, more independence and gives them the chance to progress. If the business case adds up, why not do the right thing?

Myths can wrongly override the business case:

However compelling the business case, many potentially successful employers of disabled people are prevented from taking the next step through fear of unknown territory, embarrassment or widely-held negative assumptions about the abilities of disabled people.

These concerns are understandable but often ill-founded, as the experience of major employers continually confirms. Employing people will never be without difficulties. We want to present a balanced overview of employing people with disabilities. Like any other workers, they may well present problems from time to time.

To minimise potential difficulties, the skills and attitudes of candidates are professionally assessed and then matched to the real-world needs of possible employers. If difficulties do occur, professionals will always be on hand to come in and help you resolve a situation promptly and effectively.

Some of the UK's foremost employers are now driving change:

Co-operative Bank, House of Fraser, Whitbread are just some of a growing network of employers who are sharing their experiences in employing disabled people with other businesses who are considering doing so.
Click here for more information.

What can you do?

There are many ways to assist people with disabilities to access work, and to retain existing employees who have developed a disability, or whose disability has become more severe.

Involvement

The most important thing to remember is that the employer and employee will get the best results by working as partners in this process. Involve the employee and ask for their input.

Encourage the inclusion of the employee in appraising policies, systems and practices, and ensure colleagues have the information they need to help meet corporate and individual objectives.

Empower employees to identify ideas that will facilitate their retention in the organisation, and allow people with disabilities to be involved in design decisions involving practical workplace adjustments.

You could use mentoring systems to provide formal communication of support measures.

Policy

Do not isolate disability as a separate strategic issue. If it is included in diversity management across all spheres, and is seen as being part of the strategic plan, then colleagues and staff will buy into the idea.

Many companies have mission statements. This could be extended to cover staff and customers that have disabilities. Guidelines should be circulated to all staff.

Training sessions on Disability Awareness could be included as part of staff development.

Practical Support

As with any member of staff, employ someone as an individual. Have a probationary period then review the situation. Focus on meeting needs, overcoming obstacles and achieving desired results. This is an on-going process and could be included in annual appraisal.

If practical, advertise jobs more widely and consider selecting employees on practical skills rather than formal qualifications.

You may find that more accurate job/employee matches can be found by identifying jobs which may be specifically suitable for a person with a disability. For example, if you need a keyboard operator who will be based in a room which is easily accessible, then you could contact Bury EST or Stockport Employment Services and ask if they could recommend a suitable person who uses a wheelchair.

Some of these ideas may help you to examine how you manage your workforce and make it accessible to a wide range of potential employees. Please contact us if you require any firther information.