Winning Workplaces

Leslie Battiste writes a poignant and convincing editorial in the Tallahassee Democrat this week that takes aim at companies that frown upon hiring and nurturing employees with disabilities because of preconceived notions that they're less productive than workers without disabilities.

Battiste cites six reasons Goodwill Industries International gives as to why hiring someone with a disability makes sense:

"Just because someone has a disability doesn't mean he or she is defined by that disability. People with disabilities have a variety of skills and talents."
She points to a A 30-year DuPont study which found that employees with disabilities have above-average job performance, attendance, dependability and safety.
It won't affect your insurance premium.
Most workers with disabilities need little or no accommodations to perform their jobs, and nearly half of all job accommodations cost nothing to implement.
"Technological advances are leading to increases in productivity for all kinds of workers, including those with disabilities."
"Workers with disabilities often have distinctive perspectives on life based on their own unique experiences, adding to the diversity and vitality of the workplace."

Providing further evidence that companies can be just as productive, and profitable, with workers with disabilities are two of Winning Workplaces' honored small firms: Clearbrook in Illinois and Pinnacle Services in Minnesota. You can read about Clearbrook's workplace culture and employee engagement best practices in our Success Story on them. You can also read about Pinnacle on our website, though author Donna Fenn does a fantastic job profiling the firm's employee development strategies in her book Upstarts!

Does your company employ any persons with a disability? What are your observations about their performance relative to other employees?