Agencies to boost efforts to hire more disabled employees, report says
The federal government is missing an opportunity by not reaching out more aggressively to people with disabilities to replace retiring employees, according to a report released on Monday by TMP Worldwide, a recruitment advertising firm.
"Public sector agencies lag seriously behind in recruiting and retaining people with disabilities," wrote report authors Mark Harvard and John Bersentes. "To call this result perplexing is -- at the least -- an understatement....Research has demonstrated that the typical individual with a disability is a more engaged, more loyal and more technologically adept employee than the average worker in the general population."
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found in 2006 that the number of disabled federal employees fell from 1.18 percent in 1996 to 0.94 percent 10 years later. Disabled employees often are not found in senior leadership positions: only 0.46 percent of the Senior Executive Service was disabled in 2006.
The National Organization on Disability concluded in a 2003 study that 68 percent of Americans with disabilities were unemployed, despite two-thirds stating they were willing and able to work.
Harvard and Bersentes said advocates in and out of government told them that disabled people tend to face more employment barriers in the hiring process, such as prejudice and skepticism about their ability to perform a certain job.
"The impending retirement crisis certainly supplies the strategic justification for engaging this population more proactively, let alone assessing its potential more fairly and objectively," they said in the report. "These veiled prejudices are confidence-drainers for the disabled candidate, too. They know better than anyone how the snap judgments of hiring managers can shatter their chance to win a job."
To that end, the firm has been hosting job fairs since 2007 on TMP Island, a location it set up in Second Life, a virtual world run by Linden Lab. Companies like T-Mobile and Microsoft have participated in the fairs and TMP would like federal agencies, some of which are using their own virtual worlds for training and recruiting, to join as well.
"We've found that candidates, and particularly candidates with disabilities, feel empowered by this prejudice-free zone, if you will, and tend to present their true potential more confidently," said Harvard and Bersentes.
They noted that the benefits of recruiting virtually and advertising by means other than written job postings can extend beyond finding and hiring talented disabled employees.
"We're all so accustomed to making ourselves clear in purely textual modes that we forget how effective the use of other communications styles can be," the report said. "Broadening your agency's communication 'bandwidth' to include what has come to be known as rich media can enrich your interaction not with Generation-Y (a no-brainer), but with team members with certain disabilities as well."
COMMENTS
- While hiring the disabled is a lofty goal there has to be some common sense in applying the standard. I've had people apply for jobs that are hearing impaired and at first blush we gave it a shot. Unfortunately the people calling in had a real problem understanding the individual when they responded to questions since their diction due to their handicap was hard to understand. We eventually found them a job that works for us but I would never hie another person with that disability for those positions. Remember this is still about providing a service to the taxpayer Dan ketter Posted July 28, 2008 11:22 AM
- There are many disabilities that are hidden from view and therefore do not count as an official disability. I have ankylosing spondylitis, a rheumatic dieases effecting the spine and other joints. It is debilitating, painful and there is no cure. I have had 12 orthopedic surgeries and spend over $18,000 out of pocket each year. I struggle to make it to work each day and business travel is a nightmare of pain. But, there is no wheelchair or other feature to mark me as being disabled. People like me fall between the cracks. William Gloor Posted July 28, 2008 10:33 AM
- Very few recognize that one of the most undected disabilities out there is a learning disability. I have just recognized it in one of my employees and I am counciling the person on how to proceed with even getting it recognized let alone getting accomadations for it. I know this is an uphill battle to wage with out help and guidance. Rick Birkhimer Posted July 28, 2008 7:11 AM
