3 Keys to Fostering Inclusion

Workplace inclusion is becoming a critical determinant of success for employers nationwide.  An increasing population of Americans with disabilities, evaporating Federal funds for disability unemployment programs, and the need for ongoing ADA compliance are just three key drivers towards increased participation of individuals with disabilities in the workplace.  Disability training programs that foster inclusion are a means for organizations to stay ahead of the curve, preparing workplaces across the country to better accommodate work-ready prospects with disabilities.

Workplace Inclusion:  3 Key Steps

Workplace inclusion is an end, not a means.  It is a goal to be achieved through ongoing disability education and awareness programs.  By definition, inclusive workplaces freely and without pity accept qualified individuals of all backgrounds, including those with disabilities.  This view further recognizes that outward appearance or deficiency relative to the status quo in no way inhibit the ability of an individual to add value to an organization.

The following are 3 keys to fostering inclusion in the workplace while engaging in employee training programs:

1. Create and Enforce Policies

The creation and enforcement of policies is the first step in fostering inclusion in the workplace.  This step will vary in application depending on individual business diversity and needs.  In general, effective policies are those that increase the accessibility of job opportunities, physical work spaces, spread awareness for prevalent disabilities, engage in soft skills training, and other means of developing a respectful rapport among all members of the organization.

Enforcement is the not-so-pretty side of this coin, but it is essential nonetheless.  All members must be made aware of the penalties for violating inclusion policies.  Accordingly, all individuals found in violation of stated policies must be reprimanded in a timely and equitable manner.

Finally, organizations may wish to utilize periodic office communications like announcements, bulletins, or email newsletters to circulate news of policy and enforcement changes.  This has a the dual benefit of keeping employees informed while also restating inclusion policies to remind individuals of their scope and goal.

2.  Encourage Employee Support Systems

Employee support systems can be both imposed by management or created by employees.  The latter reflects a recent trend in the grass roots style of employee networking whereby individuals of similar backgrounds voluntarily create interoffice groups to discuss pertinent workplace issues.

Employee support systems further the generation of inclusion in the workplace by giving individuals a chance to network and bond with peers with whom they share significant common grounds.  Moreover, encouraging employees to form support groups can be a vehicle for spreading awareness about issues that otherwise may go unspoken.  Human Resources plays a vital role, here, as an entity capable of moderating interaction among different employee support groups to facilitate open discussion of group-specific challenges, aspirations, and perspective.

Above all, these groups build the support system necessary to help individuals build confidence, broaden their horizons, and develop professionally within their organization.

3. Recruit Individuals with Disabilities

Inclusion is not reactive.  Rather, it is proactive.  Qualified individuals are to be welcomed into the workplace with under an unfaltering notion that everyone has the ability to contribute something of value.

Welcoming qualified individuals is all about accessibility.  In a physical sense, this means review the architecture of real-world work spaces to ensure entrances, work stations, bathrooms, and other areas are ADA compliant and deemed handicapped accessible.  Accessibility extends beyond the workplace, however, and into the mediums an organization may use to communicate job openings, marketing campaigns, and company news to the general public.  The virtual world is valuable in this regard, and the Disabilities Education Blog has a 5-part series on Making Websites Accessible that may prove helpful in constructing Websites with persons with disabilities in mind.

Doing the Right Thing

Disability employers and accessible organizations too often err on the side of doing the right thing.  Federal compliance and maintaining a positive public image are typical motivators for employing individuals with disabilities.

However, these shallow commitments are simply not enough.  Individuals with disabilities represent a significant portion of working class Americans.  Employed, they also represent wage earners and consumers.  They participate in their communities in similar ways as those without disabilities.  Many have life goals, fears, and moments of proud achievement.  Ms. Nadine Vogel, President of Springboard Consulting, puts it best (i):

People who are[...] disabled are individuals with families, jobs, hobbies, likes and dislikes, problems and joys.  While their [...] disability may be an integral part of who they are, it alone does not define them.  Making it comfortable for everyone to be who they are and bring their full selves and creativity to the workplace is critical to everyone’s success.

As leading global experts in helping multinational corporations, governments, and other organizations support the disability community in the workplace, Springboard Consulting knows that successful disability training programs do more than simply spread awareness.  They work to create inclusive communities where each individual has a unique opportunity to leverage their talent as a means of valuable contribution.