Creating Inclusive workplaces
If we need to learn any lessons from the past two years of quarantine, they would have to be: Resilience, Adaptability, Patience and Creativity, particularly in some business sectors. Many business owners and human resources managers in retail, hospitality and aviation are facing the phenomenon called ‘The Great resignation’. If you are one of the lucky few unaware of this issue, BBC reported that, in Canada, people quitting their jobs and not returning doubled between 2019 and 2021. This has left major labour shortages, especially in hospitality and food service. Rather than focusing on the causes of this social phenomenon, we would like to offer a solution, instead.
There are 500,000 job seekers with disabilities in Canada as of 2022. If you have not considered hiring from this untapped labour force, let us talk about the real financial benefits.
WISE Way:
- Assisting employers to recruit, train and retain employees.
- Assisting and inspiring employers to increase workplace diversity and inclusiveness.
- Establishing positive, long lasting partnerships with our employer network.
- Facilitating effective and successful relationships between employers and employees.
- Preparing jobseekers to explore their potential to obtain their choice of job.
- Preparing and training jobseekers to get ready for the workforce.
Customer engagement and loyalty
It is well known that when the public has a positive perception of a business, it increases their engagement and long-term loyalty. When your business hires employees with disabilities, it helps your customers identify with those values and choose you because of themÂ
Workplace morale
Workers these days need more than just wages and breaks. Perks and benefits are often overdone and underused. Workers are now demanding workplaces that align with their values. They want to know they work for an employer who is concerned about social issues. Hiring a person with disabilities creates a powerful statement of belief in equality and inclusivity for all. We have often witnessed the morale increase and the sense of belonging heightens within the team.Â
Safety
Many employers fear an increased number of work-related accidents if they hired a person with disabilities; this could not be further from the truth. In fact, since WISE inception, our clients have reported less than % .5 percent of injuries at work and none that required hospitalization or any future employment adaptions.
Productivity
According to Ready, Willing and Able, 89% of businesses that hired a person with disabilities have reported as well as or higher than average profit margins. Hiring a person with disabilities boosts creativity and innovation in leadership. Leaders with these qualities are better equipped to face challenges in their market.
Employee retentionÂ
A study by Stats Canada in 2017 found that people with disabilities have a 72% higher retention rate at work. Not only that but 90% rated average or better on job performance. What this means to businesses is less time and money wasted on staff turnovers, headhunting and expensive job ads.
Focusing on the skills and abilities of candidates can help your business find great staff who are ready, talented and engaged.
