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Building Capacity from the Inside Out: Engaging Insiders to Enhance Disability

Inclusiveness

U. S. Business Leadership Network

Dr. Antonio Ruiz

Dr. Hannah Rudstam

Disability & Business Technical Assistance Center--NE

Providing training and technical support in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and U. S. Virgin Islands

Contact us at 1800 949 4232Employment and Disability Institute www.edi.cornell.edu

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Plan for session…

1. Why this? Why now? Challenges in building capacity for disability & employment programs

2. Understanding barriers to employing people with disabilities: The DBTAC Barrier Intervention Model

3. Building capacity from the inside out: An overview of the ADA Trainer Network Program

4. Reaching employers: Lessons learned thus far

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1.

Why this? Why now? Challenges in building capacity for disability & employment programs

The conceptual lens:

How have disability issues been framed for

businesses?

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The “Tiny Tim” Stage

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The “Hire the Handicapped”

Stage

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Legal Compliance

Stage

The Americans With Disabilities

Act

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Beyond legal compliance… The business

journey

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Why is it still a journey? Why haven’t we arrived?

…Because the main

stakeholders in the disability

and employment

landscape have not operated

from the same world map.

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Maps of the world

Businesses Disability Service Providers

People with Disabilities

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Each world has its own language, needs and culture

Businesses

Language of value propositions

Need to make a profit

Culture of performance

Disability Service Providers

Language of program building

Need to make placements

Culture of service

People with Disabilities

Language of equal treatment

Need to make a living

Culture of justice

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These worlds don’t have to converge. They just need to find a few sweet spots.

BusinessesDisability

Service Providers

People with Disabilities

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BusinessesNeed to see service providers as any

other suppliers/contractors

Need to see people with disabilities as an untapped source of talent instead of

as a risk

Disability Service Providers

Need to see themselves as business partners

Need to see people with disabilities as individuals with unique talents and aspirations that are valued in the

workplace

People with DisabilitiesNeed to see themselves as providing a valued contribution to business goals

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To build capacity, we need to see from the inside of each other’s world maps…

Requires an insider’s perspective

•Business community insider

•Disability community insider

•Local or regional insider

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To build capacity, we need to see from inside each other’s world maps

The ADA Trainer Network program is an attempt to deliver the message by recruiting…

•Insiders from the disability community

•Insiders from the local/regional community

•Insiders from the business community

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Can’t Won’t

Don’t Know

2. Understanding barriers to employing people with

disabilities:

The DBTAC Barrier Intervention Model

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Individual Barriers

Collective—Organizational Climate Barriers

Can’t Barriers Won’t Barriers

Don’t know Barriers

Individual Attitudes/Beliefs

Individual Behaviors

Individual Knowledge/Information

Can’t Barriers Shared Behaviors:Policies/Practices

Won’t BarriersShared Attitude

Systems

Don’t know BarriersShared knowledge

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Individual barriers

Collective/climate--based barriers

Can’t Barriers Won’t Barriers

Don’t know Barriers

Attitudes/Beliefs

√ I have the right behaviors√ I have needed knowledge

But my attitudes and beliefs are in the way

Behaviors

√ I have needed knowledge√I am willing and committedBut my behaviors are in

the way

Knowledge/Information

√ I have the right behaviors√I am willing and committed

But I lack knowledge

Can’t Barriers Shared

Policies/Practices√ We have needed

information systems√We have a compelling

shared visionBut we lack effective

organizational policies/practices

around diversity and disability

Won’t BarriersShared

Attitudes/Beliefs√ We have right

policies/practices√ We have needed

knowledgeBut we lack a

compelling shared vision around

diversity & disability

Don’t know BarriersShared knowledge

√We are willing and committed√We have organizational policies & practicesBut we lack shared knowledge systems

around diversity and disability

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Individual gatekeepers/decision-makers’ knowledge:

•lack accurate knowledge of disability laws•lack of knowledge of market, population, customer trends

Individual gatekeepers/decision-makers’ behaviors:

•discomfort in interacting with employees with disabilities•unable to manage accommodations•hiring behaviors—”hire those who are just like me”

• ineffective mentoring of employees with disabilities

Individual gatekeepers/decision-makers’

attitudes:•Lowered expectations of people with disabilities•Fear of lawsuits•Fear of negative impact on customers

Shared organizational knowledge:

•Organizational knowledge sharing systems exclude any consideration of disability

Shared organizational practices/policies

•Obvious dis-incentives (e.g. no organization-wide accommodation budget, diversity/disability-inclusiveness not part of leaders’ performance expectations) •Hidden dis-incentives (e.g. unrealistic productivity demands)

Shared organizational vision•No compelling vision/mission around disability or diversity•No compelling business case made for disability-inclusiveness throughout organization

The DBTAC Barrier Intervention Model:

Examples of Barriers

Individual Level

Collective Climate Level

Don’t know Barriers

Can’t Barriers

Won’t Barriers

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Most of our interventions are

here

But many of the barriers are here

But many of the barriers are here

But many of the barriers are here

But many of the barriers are here

But many of the barriers are here

Individual Level

Collective Climate

Level

Don’t know Barriers

Can’t Barriers

Won’t Barriers

InterventionsOn-line or in-

person training

Knowledge dissemination—

e.g. briefs, newsletters, articles, etc.

InterventionsChanging performance

expectations for managers

Coaching for managers: leading for disability

inclusiveness

InterventionsGive leaders real-life

experience with employees with

disabilities

Exposure to success stories of other

employers

InterventionsCraft a compelling

organizational vision around disability

inclusiveness & the business case

Match vision to mission

InterventionsEliminate dis-incentives—e.g. create centralized

accommodations budget

Examine work routines & job designs—eliminate

rigidity, introduce flexibility

InterventionsCreate resource groups

or communities of practice around disability

Build disability inclusiveness updates

into shared conversation spaces

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3. Building capacity from the inside out:

An overview of the ADA Trainer Network Program

To enable “insiders” to deliver the disability message…

•By providing high quality, inter-active programs across a range of customer-driven disability topics

•By supporting a network of qualified “insider” trainers with train-the-trainer sessions, program plans, materials and web-based support

•By enabling people with disabilities to be seen as experts—as viable trainers

•By standardizing a program approach so that we can better assess impact

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ADA Trainer Network Offering

Program 1 Disability Awareness Program 2

Getting Hired and Moving Ahead in a Job When Working

with a Disability

Program 3 Tapping into Talent: Best Practices in Employing

People with Disabilities

Program 4 Serving

Customers with DisabilitiesProgram 5

Hidden Disabilities

Program 6 Accessibility for

Government Entities

Program 7 Accessibility for Private Sector

Businesses

Program 8 Accessible

Technology in the Workplace

Program 9 Accessible Websites: Everyone Benefits

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4. Reaching employers: Lessons learned thus far

• The power of message is enhanced by using trainer-experts who themselves have disabilities

– Walking the talk– Seeing someone with a disability as an expert– Human experience with disability enriches the material (but with some caveats)– “The devil’s in the details”

• Balancing program consistency with customization

• Encourage trainers to use training session as initial entry to build upon local networks—get away from a “one shot deal” and toward a sustained partnership

• The need to get beyond a sole reliance on legal compliance

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Activity…

1. As a group, read the scenario

2. Discuss your response to the questions in the small group

3. Debrief as a large group• Disability inclusive business strategies• The return on investment of disability inclusiveness

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If you would like a copy of this presentation sent to you, please email Barbara Sosna

at bms8@cornell.edu

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Finally, remember this…

If you have questions, call the Disability and

Business Technical Assistance Center at

1 800 949 4232