10 million ways to fill the talent gap: Erasing myths, misperceptions helps employers to tap talent

Kelley M. Butler
Employee Benefit News • March 2007

If someone told HR/benefits managers where they could find six million working-age potential hires who are proven problem solvers, provide a tax benefit for their company and have higher retention rates than average employees, they likely would ask, "What's the catch?"

Not only is there no catch, such a group of potential employees currently exists right under employers' noses.

"The sad fact is that there are 10 million working-age disabled people in the United States, but the unemployment rate [of disabled Americans] is around 60% to 70%," says Wayne McMillan, president and CEO of the Atlanta-based Bobby Dodd Institute, which provides resources to the disabled. One of the organization's goals, he says, "is to help employers see the value in hiring people with disabilities and to make [hiring them] a priority."

Unfortunately, though, it can be difficult for disabled workers to get a fair shake.

Tiana Tozer, a public relations specialist with the Standard Insurance Company who has used a wheelchair for years since an accident with a drunk driver, recounts one of her experiences in searching for work.

"In one interview, I was asked if I could get in and out of cars quickly, [although] the job description made no mention of that skill," Tozer recalls. "While assuring the interviewer that I possessed this skill, I was thinking, Why? Are they going to ask me to deliver pizzas on the side?'"

To eradicate such employer biases, employment services groups for the disabled are conducting education campaigns to let employers know disabled workers are more capable than they perhaps thought, and it makes good business sense to hire them.

"We want employers to build a culture of inclusion, and value people for who they are," McMillan says. "We want them to think of Ed as Ed - not Ed who's in a wheelchair."

Addressing stereotypes

Two dominant stereotypes persist regarding disabled workers: Accommodating them is costly, and hiring them puts employers at risk for legal trouble.

"Typically, the first thing [employers] get concerned about is accommodation, but most accommodations cost less than $500," McMillan asserts. He's right. According to statistics from the Labor Department's Office of Disability Employment:

• 15% of accommodations cost nothing.
• 51% cost between $1 and $500.
• 12% cost between $501 and $1,000.
• 22% cost more than $1,000.

Plus, "Disabled workers stay on the job longer than nondisabled workers, so lower turnover costs far outweigh $500," adds Alison Lipman, a representative with Hire Disability Solutions, an employment services firm for the disabled.

Cost savings aside, McMillan notes: "Employers make accommodations for employees all the time - whether it's flextime for parents or an ergonomic keyboard for one employee's workstation. Accommodating disabled employees is no different."

Tozer concurs, and adds that some employees have "hidden disabilities, such as depression, attention-deficit disorder or diabetes, and you are accommodating them in ways you don't know about, yet cost you money as an employer."

Tozer also says that employers' fears regarding being sued by disabled workers are largely unfounded, and he believes poor communication is at the root of the problem.

"The issue comes from a lack of communication due to fear. The employer doesn't ask for fear of being accused of discrimination, and the employee doesn't share information for fear of being discriminated against or viewed differently."

Paula Marinak, a participant in Pennsylvania's HR management training program who uses a wheelchair to live with cerebral palsy, adds, "If employers talk to workers to determine their needs and then work with them to find a solution to their challenges, lawsuits shouldn't be an issue."

Besides, McMillan says, "The disabled don't sue their employers any more often than non-disabled employees. They just want to be looked at based on their skills."

Diversity initiatives

Though lawsuits are few and far between, one way to avoid them, some experts say, is to include recruiting and retaining disabled employees in companies' diversity efforts. Lipman says getting employers to shift their thinking from solely racial and gender diversity to include disability is a challenge, but one Hire Disability Solutions takes seriously.

"There are bottom-line benefits to employing people with disabilities," she asserts. "It allows businesses to better represent their customer base. People with disabilities are natural problem-solvers. There are tax benefits and low turnover. We want to get the word out there because businesses exist to make a profit and including people with disabilities helps lead to that."

'I am just like you'

Most of all, Tozer and Marinak say they want equal treatment, which employers can provide for free.

"Employers should concentrate on the potential rather than the problems that could result," Marinak says. "Viewing employees with disabilities as untapped assets rather than liabilities brings out the best in all employees."

Tozer believes the key is focusing on employees' similarities. "I am just like you," she asserts. "I have hopes and dreams; I have a mortgage; I worry about retirement. I don't want special privileges. All I ask is an opportunity to compete in the race. What I make of that opportunity is up to me."