How businesses can improve the employment outcomes of people with disability

When it comes to the employment of people with disabilities, Australia has a poor track record.

In fact, Australia has one of the lowest employment rates for people with disability in the OECD — ranking 21 out of the 29 countries, according to Jennifer Westacott, CEO of the Business Council of Australia (BCA).

“This means people with disability represent one of Australia’s greatest underrepresented talent pools.”

The council has released a new report on improving the employment outcomes of people with a disability, highlighting the barriers affecting this group, and actions employers can take to better attract and recruit them.

“The Business Council seeks to lift productivity and economic inclusion for all Australians, which is why we simply must do better,” she said.

The new report was created by BCA in partnership with the Australian Network on Disability (AND), an organisation that helps companies advance the inclusion of people with disability. It involved a survey that was distributed to 140 BCA members, with 92% saying they wanted to recruit more people with a disability in their workplace.

“We know our members are committed to the employment of people with disability,” Westacott said. “However, it is clear from our survey that there is a lag in translating this into action that enables a meaningful increase in employment outcomes.”

Barriers to employment for people with disabilities

So, what are the barriers for businesses in employing people with disability and what actions can they take to improve employment outcomes in this space?

The top three barriers to implementing employment initiatives for people with disability are:

• limited resources (65%)
• managers not feeling confident in managing people with a disability (60%)
• not knowing what to do/where to start (30%), according to the report.  

There is a lack of understanding and confidence around employing people with a disability, “and also the fear that they may be doing the wrong thing,” Corene Strauss, chief executive officer at AND, told HRD Australia

“The other thing is that people felt they didn't have the resources to employ people with disability. That's an interesting topic. I think if you have the right systems and processes in place, it's not really about resourcing; it's about understanding and having the wherewithal and processes to start the recruitment process, do the employment process, do the onboarding, and then also do the career progression that is accessible for all.”

But one myth Strauss wants busted is the idea that there is a risk in employing people with a disability.

“Many employers think, ‘Oh, it's risky employing people with disability’,” she said. “So they think about ‘risky’ as in terms of workplace safety et cetera. But the thing about it is that people with disability know their own limitations, so there is no issue about risk. So that is actually a really good advantage of employing people with disability.”

On top of this, retention is really high for people with a disability.

“They are very loyal to a fault around an organisation when they do inclusive practices,” she said. “It means that you don't have to keep rehiring people with disability in the organisation.”

Actions to improve employment outcomes

The report highlights a number of actions that work well to improve employment outcomes for people with a disability. This includes partnerships with specialist organisations, targeted recruitment strategies and disability confidence training.

For Strauss, the first step for employers is to look at their workplace adjustment processes to recruit and retain employees with a disability. This could mean if someone applies for a job and you discover they have a disability, look at what the processes or policies are in place to support them, she said.

“If you get that right, you're already setting up a psychologically safe environment for all employees, not just people with disability,” Strauss said. “But you find that more and more people will be willing to be employed by you and by your organisation. And you also find that, reputationally, this is a place that is really safe and inclusive and a really empowering organisation.”

In addition to developing disability recruitment strategies, retention strategies and career development strategies that are inclusive, employers could establish a disability employee network or reference group as well, she said.

“When you establish this group, what you're doing is organically creating an environment where people can learn more about the impact of disability and to build the confidence to engage people with disability,” Strauss said. “And also, it becomes a group of great, talented, skilled individuals who can also inform the organisation about stronger inclusive practices.”

Another important aspect for success is senior leadership’s role in driving and monitoring the progress of the initiatives they have to attract and retain employees with a disability.

“You can't just set and forget, you need to be across it constantly,” Strauss said. “Do not rely on HR to do your work. This is a responsibility we all have as an organisation. To all employers, we really encourage… that you support your HR team and you don't just leave it to them to do the work.”