The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) states that the unemployment rate for persons with disabilities is twice the rate of those without. This statistic reaffirms the need for companies to examine how they recruit and hire people with disabilities.  

Check Your Infrastructure

Having the infrastructure to handle employment for workers with disabilities is critical in business. Is the work location accessible? Is there parking available? According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their jobs is a requirement for employers of 15 or more workers. The infrastructure changes might even make it easier to recruit and hire other employees with disabilities. 

Watch Your Language

Speak with inclusion when seeking to attract and hire people with disabilities. The key is knowing how to refer to members of diverse groups, including those with disabilities, sensitively. When putting job descriptions and postings together, consider the following: 

• Always put the person first, not the disability. 
• Never say the “disabled” or a “disabled person.” 
• Use “with disabilities” when speaking of a person with disabilities.  

Inclusion is the use of a vocabulary that is respectful to everyone, so please pay attention to the language in use.  

Expand the Recruiting Process

Try to enlarge where you share job postings as well as how you share them. Making job opportunities more visible makes it easier for people with disabilities to find them. Here are a few tips: 

• Be sure to share the job opening with nonprofit agencies and organizations that work with people with disabilities in your area. 
• Find websites that target workers with disabilities and post open jobs there. 
• List job openings with organizations that work with veterans who have disabilities. 
• Try to feature these job openings on social media, and blogs. Use keywords that help candidates with disabilities find opportunities. 

Alter the Application Process

An online application system must be set up in a manner that makes navigation possible for job candidates with disabilities.  

• If the information on a site is not visible, one should be able to hear it.  
• Mouse and keyboard accessibility should be part of website navigation. 
• Try to present information in a clear, simple language that will make sense to the applicant for a job. 

Interview in a Normal Fashion

People with disabilities want equal, not different treatment. The ADA forbids asking disability-related questions before a job offer. To provide equal job opportunity during the interview process: 

• Ensure the interview location is accessible to persons with a variety of disabilities. 
• Focus on qualifications. 
• Ask job-related inquiries you would ask any candidate. 
• Inform applicants in advance of testing in case reasonable accommodations are necessary. 
• Allow job applicants reasonable accommodation for participating in the job interview. 

Do You Have Growing Employment Demands?

If your company is seeking its next great hire, contact SIS, a leading staffing agency in Baltimore, MD., for help with your staffing needs today!