Workers with disabilities have been highly undervalued in the workplace. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 21.3% of people with a disability were employed in 2022, compared to 65.4% of people without a disability. On top of that, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is twice as high. Many people with disabilities want to and can contribute to a company, but employers have to find these individuals and give them a fair shot at succeeding during the hiring process.
Accommodations are a significant way companies can ensure that people with disabilities have a fair hiring process. Let’s dive into what accommodations are and how to use them to find top, diverse talent.
Accommodations are a set of actions that help people who need flexibility. Most often, we think of accommodations in school as our classmates may have gone to an extra class or gotten more time to take a test. Laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act in the United States have given this subset of people more protected rights and freedoms in life, school, and work.How
We’ve already established how the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to employers. While anyone you hire should meet the standards of the role and be able to do the job, you should also ensure that you give workers the material they need to do it effectively. You should provide reasonable accommodations to your potential and current employees.
What kind of accommodations might apply to the hiring process? After a person has disclosed their disability, you should ensure you meet them where they are. Here are a few ideas of accommodations employers can offer:
Some people may not want to disclose their disability immediately due to the discrimination they have felt with past employers. It is not up to HR or hiring managers to try and get workers to disclose by asking illegal interview questions. It’s important to vet the questions in applications, interviews, and passing conversations. Asking illegal interview questions can get a company in trouble, and it looks bad to potential workers.
Accommodations can make a difference in hiring a more diverse workforce. As your team branches out to find workers from community-based organizations, job posting sites, and even agencies, you must create great policies that help you standardize the hiring process.
Here are some must-know tips to help you create the best experience:
If you are in HR, you know that a written policy is best. Disability-related charges make up around one-third of EEOC charges each year. Creating a policy that keeps your company safe while helping you see more candidates is important.
Get explicit about what your company considers a reasonable accommodation and ensure hiring managers know how to access these resources/make the necessary changes. For example, if you want to offer extended time on a timed assessment, provide instructions on making this change in the software and getting that link to the right person. If the process isn’t crystal clear, it may be easy for some staffers to skip over your policy.
You should also define the types of disabilities (invisible and visible) so that your team knows to be sensitive to how diverse the needs of potential employees are.
As we’ve shared, some potential workers may not disclose right away. They may have experienced discrimination or feel their disability isn’t severe enough. Sharing can be challenging if you aren’t comfortable with strangers knowing your diagnosis.
Disclosing your policy isn’t the same as a checklist of potential disabilities at the end of an application. It’s taking a step back and explaining how you approach disabilities within your company.
Instead of asking employees to check a box, share your policies around diversity, disabilities, and accommodations in the application. After you receive the finished application, follow up and let workers know that they can call, text, or email a team member to disclose if they feel comfortable doing so. This strategy allows candidates to understand where you stand before they have an option to disclose anything to you.
Auditing your process is essential when revealing any new process or policy. Creating a policy around discrimination and accommodations can backfire and make your company even less diverse.
It’s crucial to compare hiring numbers (applicants, people called for an interview, offers extended, hires, people who make it to the first year, etc.) as well as having actual conversations with your employees. Mixing quantitative and qualitative data will help you understand whether your new strategy is working.
Workers with disabilities are an integral part of the workforce. Companies need workers from a variety of backgrounds to create a great place to work. Building your company’s accommodations policy ensures that everyone gets a fair shot of succeeding during the hiring process.
Without a clear policy, employee bias and discrimination can run rampant and stop companies from hearing new voices and expertise. Whether you are just getting started or revamping your accommodations policy, there’s value in considering your company’s core values and building a plan that highlights your team's best attributes.