According to National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) report, the percentage of working-age people with disabilities actively looking for employment has increased by over 7 percent since January 2017.
As of January 2018, among those that are working-age, over 4 million workers have disabilities meaning that having an inclusive employer brand is essential for attracting this population of qualified job seekers.
A strong employer brand also helps to increase self-disclosure rates within the workplace which is essential to retaining employees with disabilities as 1 in 5 Americans have a disability.
The recruitment strategies
There are many ways to position your employer brand in the market place. Here are the top strategies for 2018:
- Virtual Career Fairs: These allow recruiters to easily engage with many job seekers with disabilities directly. At Getting Hired, we held virtual career fairs last year, which collectively connected 50 employers to over 1,000 job seekers with disabilities.
- Social Media Campaigns: Partner with your non-profit and diversity partners on active outreach strategies in promoting your employer brand to their followers attracting them to learn more about your culture.
- E-mail Newsletters: Even with advancements in technology, e-mail is still a successful strategy to engage with your job seekers by sharing news, events and career opportunities.
- Blogs: Creating content on multiple mediums is important and by expanding on topics highlighted within your e-mail newsletters, you extend the life of your content and potential reach by publishing blogs.
- Celebrating NDEAM: October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) giving your company an opportunity to highlight your support to this diversity group.
- Disability-Etiquette Trainings: All of your outreach can only be successful if your team is trained and equipped with best practices in communicating to this group. This should include being familiar with your organizations accommodation statement.
“At Lincoln Financial Group, we believe diversity of thought, background, experience and people drive innovation,” said Mike Kellar, VP, Recruiting, Lincoln Financial Group and Leader of Lincoln’s Business Resource Group, People with Disabilities – Workplace. “Investing in strategies to hire individuals with disabilities helps us to create more innovative solutions that drive our business forward.”
Results: How do these strategies make an impact?
In 2017, a Getting Hired employer partner implemented these strategies within their talent acquisition strategy and as a result, ended 2018 with 10 new qualified job seekers with disabilities within their workforce.
You can find out more ways for your business to engage with individuals with disabilities, by following us on Twitter to see recent disability news and tips!
