Diversity Insight: People with disabilities can be great employees
In this tight talent market, credit unions can look to this group to broaden their hiring pools and spectrum of thinking.
October is National Employment Disability Awareness Month.
Credit unions have a lot to gain from hiring some of the 61 million Americans who have a disability. Only 18.7 million were employed in 2017, so the population of people with disabilities is largely untapped in terms of potential workers. In fact, a report by CareerCast Disability Network ranked “accountant” and “financial planner” as the top two best jobs for people with disabilities.
$1.8 billion South Carolina Federal Credit Union, N. Charleston, has the right idea. The organization made a video in April 2018 proudly showing that its diverse employees have conditions including multiple sclerosis, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, dyslexia and other learning disorders. Both business owners and the talent they seek stand to benefit from individuals with disabilities being hired. To sell a service or product to a specific audience, executives have to know how they think. What better way to do that than by creating a workplace that welcomes and supports people with disabilities, giving employers access to a variety of voices when making decisions?
According to the Kessler Foundation’s 2017 National Employment & Disability Survey: Supervisor Perspectives, less than a third of companies have goals to hire workers with disabilities. This status quo statistic can and should change. Here’s why.
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