Talent Management - September 2008 - (Page 17)

People with disabilities represent a substantial source of untapped talent in the workforce. And the reason they have not been better integrated into the employment world likely is because of a few misunderstandings. T here was a time when females across America looked to the “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” for their ﬁrst role model of an independent woman in the workplace. This time capsule was reopened in mid-May when Oprah hosted a reunion for Mary and the gang on her television show. Times have changed. Not too long ago, some employers thought hiring and training women was a waste of time and money. They couldn’t be retained. They had children, and some employers didn’t even want the cost of putting in more bathroom facilities for females. These employers said they didn’t have the time, money or interest. Then day-care centers popped up. Social mores shifted. Women became speaker of the House and ran for president. Companies voluntarily came up with strategies to attract and retain women, giving them an edge when the talent shortage arose. Today, the beneﬁts are clear. A July Catalyst report indicated companies with a higher representation of women in senior leadership roles achieved a higher return on equity (ROE) than companies with less representation of women. Corporate America hasn’t perfected the gender issue in the workplace, but most of the aforementioned concerns now seem absurd. Yet, in 2008, we are having similar conversations about people with disabilities. There are ﬂaws in comparing women to the disabled, but when it comes to workforce integration, the issues are similar. Many employers are scared of change and see the effort and cost as unnecessary and risky. But the world is changing. Illinois-based Walgreens Co. will open a distribution center in Connecticut in 2009 that will speciﬁcally focus on hiring people with disabilities — the second of its kind for the company. It opened the other in South Carolina in 2007. People with disabilities will ﬁll at least 30 percent of the jobs at both locations. Walgreen’s joins other top American companies, including Merrill Lynch and Procter & Gamble, that have initiatives to weave employees with disabilities into their workforces. It Makes Business Cents People with disabilities increasingly want to earn an income and contribute to society. Research shows for many, being able to secure and maintain employment lessens the affect the disability can claim over their lives. Twentytwo-year-old Dave, who has cerebral palsy, said it best on his blog: “The greatest obstacle to my autonomy is society’s reluctance to recognize me (and others) as a full member of the community, to recognize the talents I give and the services I receive are on the same par as those of every other member of the community.” People with disabilities are an underutilized labor pool of 22 million in the U.S. alone, in a world that expects a labor shortage of 10 million by 2015, according to the Virginia Business Leadership Network. The unemployment rate for the disabled is about 50 percent versus the national average of 5.7 percent, as documented by the Department of Labor and the National Council on Disability. In an American Community Survey, more than 60 percent of the unemployed respondents said they are willing and able to work but ﬁnd the barriers of employment too difﬁcult to overcome. But companies see the opportunity to match empty jobs to these ready candidates. Public companies such as Walgreens cannot spend $175 million on a location designed to employ a large population of employees with disabilities — such as its facility in South Carolina — without it contributing to shareholder value. In addition to ﬁlling talent gaps, other factors validate such an investment: • The top line grows. The diversiﬁcation of the workforce turns into better diversiﬁcation of the customer population. Individuals with disabilities are the largest minority population, according to the Virginia Business Leadership Network. As customers, this population has an annual buying power of $3 trillion and an aggregate income of $220 billion. It is likely no coincidence the three aforementioned companies are all consumer-facing. Yet, this beneﬁt applies to B2B as much as it applies to B2C. Customers want to see themselves reﬂected in a company’s workforce and values, and this is rewarded with loyalty. There is another bonus: Hiring people with disabilities brings in house an understanding of those customers’ buying behavior. September 2008 • Investment is low. From building ramps for those in wheelchairs to accommodating phone interviews talent management magazine www.talentmgt.com 17 http://www.talentmgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Talent Management - September 2008

Talent Management - September 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Human Performance: Stop Wasting Money on Training Leading Edge: No Whining, No Excuses Learning Connections: Do You Get It? The Untapped Resource Reinventing HR Doing Compensation Right: The Winning Spread Managing Performance in the Knowledge and Innovation Worker Age Stop-The-Clock Time Management Preparing for the Future in the Public Sector SAS: Connecting People, Process and Products Talent Transformation at Textron The Price of Finding the Right Gen Y Candidate Advertiser's Index Editorial Resources Full Potential: Do What You Love, Love What You Do

Talent Management - September 2008

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