How Can You Build and Benefit From Being a Disability Confident Organisation?
There are 14.1 million disabled people in the UK, yet disabled people are still more than twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled people.
With more discussions than ever before around diversity in employment, Disability Confident organisations are essential in promoting inclusive practices that can change the trajectory of equality in the workplace.
We’re going to discuss how you can become confident in accommodating disabled candidates in your organisation, the benefits of a diverse workforce and why being a Disability Confident organisation is so advantageous in developing more inclusive recruitment practices.
What is a Disability Confident organisation?
The Disability Confident scheme supports employers to make the most of the talents that disabled people can bring to a workplace.
Through the scheme, organisations are challenging attitudes towards disability, whilst also increasing the understanding of disability and removing the barriers that those with disabilities and long-term health conditions face in the workplace.
Most importantly, a Disability Confident organisation guarantees that disabled people have equal opportunities to fulfil their potential in their work.
We believe in the benefits of a more diverse and inclusive workforce – after all, our agency is driven by diversity and the benefits it brings to the working environment of our clients – which is why we are a Disability Confident employer.
Having recently received a Level 2 accreditation in being a Disability Confident employer, we know first-hand the variety of benefits a diverse workforce can bring.
The benefits of a diverse workforce
It’s no surprise that there are multiple barriers facing disabled people when it comes to employment.
The biggest barriers employers cited for uncertainty around hiring disabled people were their ability to do their job and the costs of making reasonable adjustments.
However, the potential benefits for a diverse organisation, particularly one that is Disability Confident, are considerable.
Let’s take a look at a few.
A wider talent pool to draw from
Being able to increase the number of high quality candidates you can draw from, with untapped talent, is always going to be advantageous.
A wider pool of talent often means a greater variety of skills, and the tangible benefits of hiring disabled people can result in increased innovation and productivity on a wider scale.
Having an increased number of quality candidates is also great for representation – you’re creating a workforce that reflects the diversity of the customers you might have and the communities you are based in.
That means that you aren’t just gaining access to a wider talent pool by accommodating disabled candidates, you’re also attracting diversity by integrating a culture of equality and inclusivity in your organisation to potential candidates.
You’re bringing in additional skills
Accenture found that disability inclusion champions were two times more likely to outperform their peers in terms of shareholder returns, and four times more likely to have total shareholder returns that outperform their peer group.
We mentioned earlier that hiring disabled candidates can result in increased innovation – strengths such as agility, persistence and willingness to experiment were cited by those with a disability as part of adapting to the world, which are essential for innovation.
It isn’t just the organisation at large that benefits.
Studies have shown that non-disabled employees who work alongside disabled employees find themselves to be more aware of how to improve inclusivity in the workplace.
Increased retention
Staff turnover is up to 30% lower in organisations with a strong disability community outreach program.
Employers with experience employing disabled people also noted the lower turnover rates, consistent timekeeping and dependability, and low sickness record of disabled employees.
If the advantages of lower staff turnover aren’t enough, there’s also the reduction of costs associated with turnover, such as training time, loss of productivity and overtime for other staff.
How can you become more confident in accommodating disabled candidates?
Now you know the benefits, where do you start with being more accommodating of disabled candidates?
We are a Level 2 accredited Disability Confident employer because we genuinely believe in, and see, the benefits of a diverse workforce.
Diversity is part of organisational culture, not a tick-boxing exercise – having diversity without inclusion isn’t going to work.
Here are a few ways you can become more confident in accommodating disabled candidates.
Emphasise a culture of diversity and inclusion
It might sound obvious as a starting point, but often, organisations can get hung up on one specific aspect without acknowledging the rest.
Inclusion = fairness, a sense of belonging, a feeling of safety and openness, and empowerment and growth.
Diversity = inclusion of people from a range of backgrounds (social, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc).
If you make an effort to accommodate disabled candidates in your organisation, the fundamental change that results in the benefits we’ve mentioned are less likely to take place unless these candidates feel truly valued, safe, empowered and understood.
Show your commitment
Whether you’re advertising your organisation as Disability Confident in job adverts, or actively promoting diversity and inclusion initiatives/strategy on a wider scale, showing your commitment reassures disabled candidates that you are consistent in your approach.
Make sure that your job advertisements are adapted to account for this commitment, too!
Showcasing your approach to diversity is one thing, but ensuring that the usual barriers that face disabled candidates (such as a hesitance to make adjustments in the workplace) aren’t going to be an issue is far more important.
Offer ongoing support
It’s not just about the recruitment stage, but onboarding, too.
You need to be transparent about equal pay and benefits, whilst also highlighting your inclusive policies and practices such as flexible working.
Asking disabled candidates to see if they need any adjustments to their working environment means that they can be accommodated before they start, rather than feeling hesitant to ask once they begin working.
Final thoughts
If you feel confident in accommodating disabled candidates, you’ll gain a variety of benefits for your organisation and employees.
We’d like to think we know a thing or two about the benefits of a diverse workforce by this point, but even if you don’t take our word for it – the benefits speak for themselves.