Career Advancement

Retaining your talent, advancing careers

It is likely that some of your employees may have been hired with a specific, disclosed disability while other employees may have been injured or experienced a health-related condition during their employment.

As your company grows and becomes more successful, it’s a good idea to develop strategies that promote and maintain the health, efficiency and growth of all highly skilled employees, including those with disabilities.

Did you know that it costs less to accommodate and provide accessible technology to a worker with a disability than to pay short- or long-term disability and cover the costs of recruiting and hiring for a vacant position?

Here are some strategies to increase the retention of your employees with disabilities:

• Be sure that your employees are aware of all available benefits and services.
• Develop a disclosure process. Employees who are or become disabled should understand that your company has policies to ensure job retention.
• Create a culture of open communication. Let employees know that they can voice health concerns or disability-related issues to management or appropriate Human Resources Personnel. You will be better prepared to address any issues and help maintain productivity in the workplace.
• Provide opportunities to help employees maintain and increase skills. It’s a move that will keep employees invested in their jobs and your company’s mission.
• Compensate competitively. Be sure that your company is offering fair and adequate salaries for the current market.
• Review your workforce often, and create strategies to ensure the visibility of people with disabilities at all levels of employment, including management and executive level positions.
• Promote ongoing expansion and availability of accessible technology products, such as Video Remote Interpreting and other assistive devices. For an online assessment of your accessible technology needs, visit TriCare Home
• Implement a peer mentorship program to support new and current employees with disabilities. Include lessons learned from the mentorships in company strategies and policies.
• Be certain that any initiatives related to disability include non-apparent disabilities, such as mental health and learning disabilities.
• Provide disability awareness and sensitivity training to new and current employees to foster a culture that is inclusive of people with disabilities.
• Offer job shadowing days and mentoring programs so that employees may learn more about other positions within your company.
• Establish recognition programs to highlight accomplishments of your employees, including those with disabilities.

Next Steps

• Empower employees interested in disability issues to provide their input for related aspects of management decision-making.
• Consider flexible scheduling to help employees attend trainings and courses that may occur during general work hours.
• Allow employees to telecommute and job share to maintain and improve productivity.
• Create a committee to provide consultation and support to employees about issues related to disability and employment.
• Participate in National Disability Mentoring Day, a national program that promotes career development for students and adults with disabilities. Activities include job shadowing and hands-on career exploration. National Disability Mentoring Day is a great opportunity to promote positive interaction between employers and students and adults with disabilities.

Resources

Employer Innovations Online
Learn about successful corporate approaches to addressing mental health in the workplace. Features a searchable database of case studies of actual practices by leading employers.

Able & Willing
A captioned video of stories about people with disabilities and businesses working together to create successful mentorships, internships and long-term employment opportunities.

Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers
1 (800) 949-4232 (V/TTY)
Ten regional Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research provide ADA information, training and technical assistance across the nation.

Job Coaching Benefits to Businesses and People with Disabilities
A fact sheet explaining how job-coaching services for people with significant disabilities have proven successful.

E-Sight Careers Network
Provides online information and guidance for job seekers, career counselors, job developers and prospective employers about what works best for a range of disability employment issues.

Equal Opportunity Publications: Careers and the Disabled
Equal Opportunity Publications has led the way from affirmative action to diversity recruitment by publishing career-guidance and recruitment magazines for women, members of minority groups, and people with disabilities.

US Department of Labor: Office of Disability Employment Policy
Provides national leadership by developing and influencing disability-related employment policy as well as practice affecting the employment of people with disabilities.