Prepare for Disability with Educational Products

Disability work programs do more than just hire individuals with disabilities.  While these programs certainly create workplaces where a diversity of individuals may find opportunities for work, they go a step further by facilitating the development of these individuals.  Creating a work program of this nature is not difficult.  Further, successful disability work programs recruit a multitude of unique prospects and provide support systems that develop prospects into long term company assets.

Internal Preparation:  Soft Skills and Sensitivity Training

The best way to successfully engage in disability work programs is to first prepare internally.  It is important to assess the management structure of your organization, encouraging all department heads and other influential leaders to openly advocate new disability programs.  This will spread awareness, build program support, and position office leaders to answer any questions employees may have regarding disability training programs.

Organizations may further prepare their members by scheduling regular workshops to review etiquette and disability workplace skills.  Soft Skills Training, for example, helps individuals identify and improve areas of personality to better suit a diverse workplace.  Sensitivity Training furthers these efforts by helping employees recognize the biases they may hold about persons of different ethnicity, sex, and ability.  Once recognized, these biases can be overcome through sensitivity training activities that dispel common prejudices.

Hiring for Disability

Once an organization is adequately prepared to support a diverse environment, it must take steps to make employment opportunities accessible to those with disability.  The Department of Labor is an ideal place to start.  Organizations may review a wealth of electronic resources by visiting DOL.gov and searching for Compliance Assistance Materials.

Leveraging technology to recruit prospects is another sound option.  However, it must be done with tact.  To illustrate, consider that most businesses already have a company website that features employment information and sometimes an electronic application.  This is a positive step towards extending equal opportunity to job prospects.  It can, however, be taken a step further by optimizing the website to better achieve disability employment accessibility.  Simple adjustments in website coding and design go a long way in enhancing usability for individuals with disability.

Disability Assessment and Evaluation Protocol

After internal preparation and equal opportunity outreach comes the need to address disability assessment and evaluation.  Proper supports must be designed to facilitate the needs of those with disability; from physical structures like wheelchair ramps to ongoing disability education workshops, structures and employees must stay up to date and informed.  Regularly reinforcing soft skills as well as sensitivity training principles goes a long way in supporting disability work programs.

Program Development Associates offers a range of disability videos to assist organizations in preparing disability employment programs.  From soft skills and sensitivity training to disability assessment, PDA has the disability products necessary for creating effective, lasting employment programs.