14 Nov How to Attract and Recruit Candidates with Disabilities

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How to Attract and Recruit Candidates with Disabilities

Many companies have struggled to find qualified workers in recent years. As a result, people with disabilities are finally being recognized as valuable employees who can bring a lot of value to workplace teams. People with disabilities tend to be highly driven and are more likely to stick with your company for the long haul than those without disabilities. They’ll make your workplace culture more inclusive and enhance your corporate image. What’s more, the cost to accommodate an employee with a disability is a lot lower than many employers think!

It’s clear that everyone benefits when businesses hire and retain workers with disabilities. But where can you find these talented candidates? Below, Riveter Consulting Group shares some tips to help you attract new hires with disabilities and empower them to thrive at your business.

Create a Positive Workplace Environment

Most people feel unwelcome in toxic work environments. It’s no surprise that people with disabilities avoid these types of workplaces like the plague. As a manager, you have the power to create a healthy and positive work environment where your staff feels safe and included. Try to take on the characteristics of a good boss:

• Listen to your employees and appreciate differences in opinion.
• Empower your employees to make their own decisions and learn from their mistakes.
• Teach, coach, and guide your employees by offering praise and constructive criticism.
• Let your employees have fun—and have some fun yourself!
• Inspire your team to be creative and innovative.

People with disabilities want to work for leaders who embody at least some of these characteristics. If you’re looking for ways to improve yourself as a supervisor or manager, focus on how you can support, empower, and inspire your employees.

Offer Disability-Inclusive Benefits

Many people with disabilities apply to certain companies due to their benefits packages. Take the time to review your employee benefits to ensure they’re inclusive. For example, make sure communication channels are accessible to employees with vision or auditory loss. Include coverage for body support devices like hearing aids and prosthetics. You may also want to reframe your time-off policies to offer more flexibility for personal emergencies and medical appointments.

Put Together a Disability-Friendly Recruiting Document

The vast majority of job postings contain some form of disability bias. For example, words like “walk” and “stand” can feel exclusionary to people who use a wheelchair. Job descriptions packed with complex words, metaphors, and long sentences can be overwhelming to people with neurodiversity disorders like autism and dyslexia.

Put together an inclusive recruiting document detailing why people with disabilities will thrive at your business. Talk about your inclusive culture, the benefits you offer, and the support you provide to workers with disabilities. Saving this document as a PDF file is ideal for uploading on job advertising platforms. If you’re wondering how to edit PDF files, keep in mind that you can always use an online PDF editor to make changes to your recruiting document in the future.

Make Your Website Accessible

Your website accessibility will tell applicants a lot about your commitment to inclusivity. If potential employees cannot navigate your website easily, they won’t be able to learn about your business and determine if they’re a good fit for your team. Berkeley Web Access lists several steps you can take to make your website accessible. The easiest way to do this is by building your website on a content management system (CMS) that supports accessibility. Next, learn how to use headings, alt text, links, and colors to help people with visual impairments use your website.

Improving diversity and inclusion at your business benefits everyone! Encourage people with disabilities to apply for your open positions by creating a healthy work environment, striving to be a good boss, offering inclusive benefits, and removing bias from your job postings. Thank you for doing your part to make the world more inclusive for people with disabilities!

Trust Riveter Consulting Group for all your LA-area lifestyle management and private home staffing needs!