Business Alliance Breakfast Highlights - What did we learn?

We recently hosted our first Business Alliance Breakfast event of 2022. We welcomed Jane Hatton to speak to our Business Alliance members about her career, including being CEO of Evenbreak and author of two books: ‘A Dozen Brilliant Reasons To Employ Disabled People’ and ‘A Dozen Great Ways to Recruit Disabled People: Leading edge practice on inclusive and accessible recruitment and selection’.

Jane has been interested in Diversity and Inclusion since the 1990s - long before she became disabled. It was later in life that Jane had an accident, which meant that this area of work now became personally important to her too. Moving forward to today, Jane is CEO of Evenbreak, a disabled job board led by only disabled people and made up of highly diverse and talented people, supporting disabled candidates get into work.

Kidz Board Vice-Chair, Brandon, joined the webinar too and spoke with Jane about his experience of trying to get into work. He shared how, because of his disability, he spent two years searching for employment before he found a job.

Brandon is from Sunderland and joined the Kidz Board in March 2017 but has been involved with Whizz-Kidz for over ten years. He initially received mobility equipment, attended social events and wheelchair skills training, and has since undertaken work placements. He is a Tall Ships Ambassador and has sailed a specially adapted boat around Spain and Denmark.

‘’I really enjoyed the Business Alliance breakfast, it was good to know what support is out there and some tips of what to do and what not to do when applying for jobs, and knowing that other people have experienced the same barriers that I have and how to go around it’’.

?Jane and Brandon discussed their concerns about the 30% employment gap…

Only 50% of disabled people are in work compared to 80% of their non-disabled peers!

This is just one of the many reasons Jane decided to write her two books.The first book focuses on empowering disabled people by showing employers WHY this group is an exceptionally talented pool of candidates that they are missing out on. Jane’s second book advises employers on HOW to recruit disabled people.

Here are some of Jane’s highlights on the WHY and HOW…

Why to employ disabled people:

• All the fears that employers have are based on myths and not the reality.
• For example, employers may have the false assumption that disabled people will cost them more money to hire due to the additional support they may need.. In the UK we have Access to Work scheme which provides employers with funding for to support their disabled employees, such as desk adjustments and transport expenses.
• Studies show that disabled people are more productive.
• They take 30% less time off sick than their non-disabled peers.
• Hiring disabled people has shown improved retention and employee morale. If the employer can go the extra mile to support and show they value all their employees regardless of differences, that can have a massive impact on everyone working for them.
• Approximately 20% of people in the UK are disabled, which is a huge pool of potential talent. And from a customer or client point of view, seeing that 20% represented in your organisation will improve not just your sales but your reputation. ?
• Disabled people are faced with barriers every day and have had to learn highly desirable skills to get around them: determination, problem solving, creating thinking, flexibility, being assertive with showing their needs, and more.
• In a post-pandemic world where hybrid working has become the norm, disabled people can lead and advise on how your workplace adapts and changes. Disabled people have learnt to work around barriers and they may have already worked flexibly before the pandemic. For example, they may have experience of working at different times of day when they know their productivity is high, or even experience in job sharing. ?

?How to employ disabled people:

• Advertise in places where disabled people are looking. A lot of disabled people are wary of applying for jobs because of past experiences - learn how to advertise properly to recruit disabled candidates.?
• Think about the way to shortlist candidates. The best person for the job means looking at their skills, which ?could be done through work trials to demonstrate tasks. It might also be harder for a disabled person to provide references of previous employment, so focus on their potential rather than past performance.
• In the recruitment process, make it clear that they won’t be at a disadvantage for asking for adjustments.
• Equip hiring managers who have undergone disability awareness training so they have the confidence and knowledge to work with a disabled person, and will dispel the myths in the process.
• Look at disabled people as a huge potential asset and make sure the recruitment process is not inadvertently stopping disabled people from applying. By working with organisations such as Evenbreak and Whizz-Kidz, who can support you with the process, you will ensure that you don’t miss out on a diverse pool of talented disabled people and young wheelchair users.

Whizz-Kidz currently work with many organisations, including Barratt Developments, Jardine Motors Group, Coca Cola, EY and FTI Consulting, who are committing to championing young wheelchair users and building a more inclusive society. You can join them by signing up to the?Business Alliance, a membership scheme that will ?improve your diversity and inclusion credentials.

Organisations can also demonstrate their commitment to young wheelchair users by supporting Whizz-Kidz on a unique, high profile, exciting public exhibition and tourist attraction which is coming to London in Summer 2023. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Morph’s Epic Art Adventure will help bring joy and vibrancy back to London’s streets with the first step-free art trail of its kind!?Sponsorship opportunities are still available should any organisation wish to get involved and support young wheelchair users.

If you are interested in working with us through the Business Alliance Scheme or sponsorship opportunities with Morph’s Epic Art Adventure, please contact the corporate team at [email protected].