Most often, the news presents us with the worst in society - the murders, the violence, the corruption, who is being sued and for what. They don't often share information on who is doing good. At this year's Building Bridges to Employment Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina, however, some major corporations had the chance to do just that - share success stories on how they are working to increase employment of Latinos and others with disabilities.

Forming partnerships with existing organizations is an important component of their success, said Teresa Belthrop-Hairston, Manager of Employee Initiatives at American Express. The Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities, for example, provides workshops on interviewing skills, resume writing and mock interviewing. The YMCA's Hispanic Achievers program develops future Latino leaders by teaching young Latinos to stay in school, providing them with role models and mentors and working to prevent the high dropout rate that plagues the Latino community. Aligning with these organizations provides for a ready-made stream of qualified candidates when opportunities within the company become available.

Government & private sector partnership

The North Carolina Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (NCDVRS) is a critical partner in the process, says Belthrop-Hairston. Beth Butler, the Vice President of Employment Compliance for Wachovia Bank, agrees. Butler, a licensed attorney, is legally blind, and a former vocational rehabilitation (VR) client. Both Wachovia and American Express rely heavily on the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation not only to identify individuals who are ready to go to work, but also to assist in the evaluation and provision of assistive technology devices and services to accommodate people with disabilities in the workplace.

The VR agencies also are available to help employers positively intervene when things aren't going well. Butler shared an example of an administrative assistant who was having difficulties, missing deadlines, missing work. The VR counselor, the supervisor and the employee together were able to identify the need for a job coach for a short period of time to help her accommodate her head injury and create successful strategies to manage her work. She is still employed at Wachovia today thanks to that creative partnership.

While partnering with outside agencies is crucial, Belthrop-Hairston believes it is important to have your own house in order. American Express, she says, is at the forefront of employing people with disabilities because they have regular meetings between their Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance officer, employment officer and ergonomics staff to ensure safety and comfort on the job. They are proactive in creating a diverse workplace including everyone from people with disabilities to Latinos and women, says Belthrop-Hairston, evidenced by the creation of three corporate networks: The Disabilities Awareness Network (DAN), the Association of Hispanics Organized to Raise Awareness (AHORA), and the Women's Interest Network (WIN).

Delys Reyes, Project Manager for American Express in Greensboro is a native of Peru and a long-time member of AHORA. Staff at AHORA was instrumental in helping American Express create awareness campaigns for the Spanish language media outlets. DAN, on the other hand, was responsible for helping to identify the need to make American Express' physical plant accessible in the early 1990s as well as the need to educate and inform on hidden disabilities.

Wachovia, says Butler, has been similarly proactive in creating an environment conducive to hiring and retaining qualified individuals with disabilities. Wachovia, she says, is "playing to win," and as part of that winning strategy, they recognize the importance of hiring people with disabilities.

Business Leadership Networks

Wachovia, like American Express has looked to partner with existing organizations that promote the employment of people with disabilities, like the US Business Leadership Network (BLN), and the North Carolina Business Leadership Network.

The BLNs are nonprofits which operate under the premise that every employer will value and include people with disabilities in the workforce. The BLNs are business to business networks, safe forums for employers to raise and talk about concerns and issues relating to the employment of people with disabilities. Educating employers to eradicate the myths and fears surrounding disability is one of the primary goals of the BLNs.

Employers don't have all the information and tools they need to successfully hire people with disabilities, says Butler. Vocational rehabilitation agencies, however, do have that information. They have a specific understanding of the needs of the employers. They also have knowledge about disabilities and about how to accommodate those disabilities. The challenge, she says, is to package and sell that knowledge and information to the employers to encourage hiring of people with disabilities.

Both American Express and Wachovia are examples of companies which seek to create and foster an environment where employees with disabilities feel free to have conversations about their needs with their managers or supervisors. To take advantage of such an environment, says Butler, job seekers or employees with disabilities need to be comfortable with who they are and what they need, even if they don't have all the answers. The important thing to remember, she says, is that the employer doesn't have all the answers either. It is a partnership between the employer and the person with a disability and a willingness to brainstorm and problem solve together that will create the successful solutions.

printer friendly format