Students With Disabilities: Employer Best Practices

Individuals With Disabilities
Business professionals in a meeting.

TAGS: best practices, diversity and inclusion, students with disabilities,

Best Practice Theme: Be Clear About Inclusion at the Company/Organization

Company/Organization: Centene

Company/Organization Website: https://www.centene.com/

Description: “Our National Disability Advisory Council is composed of national leaders in disability advocacy who work on enterprise-wide recommendations and initiatives that advance disability inclusion in Centene's workforce and product offerings in our healthcare solutions.”

Additional Information: https://www.centene.com/who-we-are/diversity-and-inclusion/people- with-disabilities.html

Company/Organization: EY

Company/Organization Website: https://www.ey.coml

Description: “Our steadfast commitment to helping people with disabilities work comfortably and productively is illustrated through our ongoing investment in professional networks, educational resources, and accessible work spaces. This includes providing accessibility in the technologies we build, buy, and deploy.

For example, Ernst & Young LLP is the first of the Big Four to sign the Business Taskforce on Accessibilities Technology (BTAT) Charter.”

Additional Information: https://www.ey.com/en_us/diversity-inclusiveness

Company/Organization: IBM

Website: https://www.ibm.com/us-en/?ar=1

Description: All employees participate in disability awareness training. “In order to recruit and retain employees with disabilities, IBM has implemented programs and practices that successfully attract qualified individuals. A reasonable accommodation fund exists that covers the cost of adaptive equipment, transportation or interpreting services that are necessary for a person with a disability to proficiently do their job. This allows hiring managers to select candidates they deem most suitable or qualified without having to worry about the cost to department budgets. Disability awareness training also is provided to IBM recruitment specialists, general employees and managers.”

Additional Information:
https://www.respectability.org/2017/10/ibm-recruiting-talent-with-disabilities-serving-customers-with-disabilities/

https://www-03.ibm.com/employment/inclusion/our-culture.html#timeline

Company/Organization: Merck

Website: https://www.merck.com/index.html

Description: Merck works with the employee to develop a customized action plan that is in place prior to the employee’s first day of work

Best Practice Theme: Help Employees Tell Their Story

Company/Organization: JP Morgan Chase

Website: https://www.jpmorganchase.com/

Description: “Access Ability is an internal facing Business Resource Group here at JPMorgan Chase, aimed at bringing employees with disabilities and caregivers together as a way to foster networking opportunities and a sense of camaraderie.”

Additional Information: https://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/news/insights/llucchese- disability-extraordinary-ability.htm

Best Practice Theme: Inclusive Internship Program

Company/Organization: Anthem

Company/Organization Website: https://antheminc.com/

Description: “A cross-functional team leads this internship program from Diversity & Inclusion and the Disability Policy Engagement Team with the support of Talent Acquisition. Interns should be prepared for a fast-paced, team environment in an internship that provides a robust developmental experience and exposure to various areas of healthcare that includes, but is not limited to, managed care, policy, sales, operations, administrative and management support, communications, outreach, and marketing. As part of this paid internship experience, interns are responsible for supporting their respective teams and contributing to Anthem’s broader goals.”

Best Practice Theme: Join or Partner With a Disabilities Interest Group

Company/Organization: Various companies + Autism @ Work Employer Roundtable

Description: The Autism @ Work Employer Roundtable is “a collection of innovative leaders who have been running autism-focused hiring initiatives for at least one year. As a collection of cross industry employers, we have been leading specific autism hiring initiatives, and have seen significant benefits for own inclusive cultures and for people with autism.”

Additional Information: https://disabilityin.org/what-we-do/autism-employer-roundtable/

Company/Organization: PwC and Lime Connect

Websites: https://www.pwc.com/  /  https://www.limeconnect.com/

Description: “Lime Connect is proud to partner with the world's leading corporations in our work to rebrand disability through achievement—companies that fully integrate disability as a part of their overall talent strategy, and value the diverse perspectives that employees with disabilities possess. Together, with members of The Lime Network, we are breaking stereotypes and changing the way the world views individuals who happen to have disabilities. We are leading companies of all size, industry and location to fully value the talent and strengths that employees with disabilities bring to the workplace.

Partnering with Lime Connect is about being ‘smart’—not about being ‘nice.’”

Additional Information: https://www.limeconnect.com/#our-partners

Best Practice Theme: Make Accessibility Information Readily Available

Company/Organization: Microsoft

Website: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/

Description: “Our global talent acquisition organization has a dedicated team to recruit talented and qualified candidates with disabilities. This includes a talent sourcer responsible for outreach, sourcing, and screening of people with disabilities. There is also a diversity program manager who ensures an inclusive hiring process, conducts interviewer training, provides accommodation consultations, and secures open positions/interviewers for hiring events.” Website includes additional information regarding ability hiring events, a disability hiring toolkit, an inclusive hiring site, and details regarding onboarding and accommodations for people with disabilities.

Additional Information: https://sway.office.com/ZIetX05BXMPoBLHk

Best Practice Theme: Resource Groups

Company/Organization: PPL Corporation

Company/Organization Website: https://www.pplweb.com/

Description: PPL Corporation has a BRG (Business Resource Group) called REACH (Rallying Employees Above Challenging Histories) focused on employees with disabilities and employees who serve as caregivers. PPL has been actively involved in panel discussions with students with disabilities, attended networking mock career fairs to allow students with disabilities to practice their skills prior to a career fair, and has served as a host for site visits from students with disabilities.

Additional Information: https://www.pplweb.com/blog/ppl-recognized-as-a-2018-dei-best-place-to-work-for-disability-inclusion/

Best Practice Theme: Screen Candidates In, Not Out

Company/Organization: JP Morgan Chase

Website: https://www.jpmorganchase.com/

Description: Candidates can bring an advocate; allow them to pick the seat or the lighting in the room.

Additional Information: https://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/news/stories/principal-for- inclusion-employees-with-disabilities.htm

Developed by the 2019 Careers for Students With Disabilities Task Force. Posted October 2019.

NACE JOBWIRE