|
Strengthening Your Organization’s Diversity Initiative: Recruiting, Retaining and Promoting People with Disabilities from Diverse Backgrounds
By Shanti Nair  Panelists from left to right: Dedra Paul, Javier Rodriguez and Bill Collins. |
This workshop aimed to educate employers on interacting with individuals having disabilities from diverse backgrounds. All panelists agreed there is a great need to employ more disabled individuals, educate the community on their needs and reach out to students. Janet Perales is Community Relations Manager with Jobing.com. She stated that a main goal of the organization is to recognize local talent within the disabled population and connect with employers who match their interests. She stressed that in order to work towards full inclusion, employers must first understand the concept of diversity in the workforce. This does not mean categorizing an individual based on one’s sexual orientation, religion, or education. Employers should look beyond these factors when considering one for possible employment. Perales believes one-on-one interaction is the best solution in reaching out to a diverse population. She recommends that recruiters develop an internship program for diverse groups and utilize diversity training and referral programs. Perales also encourages mentoring through job shadowing, strategic planning, and exit interviews. Engaging senior management in the employment process offers the employee opportunity to interact with employers. They feel free in contributing suggestions to improve an organization. Growth and employee retention is strengthened. Forming affinity groups helps employees have a sense of identity and provides peer support. When preparing for employment one should focus on convincing potential employers, which could be a key to success. Job seekers should clearly communicate their skills and how their contributions could benefit the organization. To get further information on enhancing diversity in the workforce employers could go to the website www.diversityleadershipalliance.org Dedra Paul, Human Resources Manager and Diversity Chair, Interval International, Inc were of the opinion that work ethics and a positive are the tools to succeeding in the workforce. Job seekers should sell themselves by communicating their capabilities and appearing confident. Bill Collins, ADA Coordinator-Miami-Dade County Employee Relations Department, felt that realistically speaking not many disabled people are being employed. Unfortunately, this reality seems to be a growing issue of concern in the workforce. Employers fear employing individuals with disabilities due to a lack the knowledge on ways of relating with them. People are left to seek jobs without any guidance or assistance. Job seekers should communicate their capabilities in spite of their disability. This would eliminate possible apprehension that the employer might have in employing a disabled individual. Individuals should be confident that they could do the job successfully. A positive attitude will determine if the individual is likely to be employed. He said, “Educate community on cultural misconceptions. Partnership is important to reach community”. Collins recommends the book “Job Hunting by the socially handicapped”-Richard Nelson Bolles to help individuals with disabilities in their pursuit of a career. |
