Managers and employers increasingly realize the need for employing a diverse and varied workforce. It is estimated that over 15% of people with disability work in different organizations. This means that most disabled people do not have jobs and are actively looking for work. Therefore, there is a need to create a disabled-friendly workplace towards employing qualified disabled candidates. You need to ensure that your workplace offers encouragement and support to help disabled employees fulfill their potential and improve their productivity.
There are different things an employer or human resource manager can do to adopt a disabled-friendly work culture. In this case, physical accessibility ought to be the most important concern, followed by consistent monitoring, continued training of employees, and technology.
Build Awareness
As you know, an aware employee is also an empowered employee. To ensure disabled employees are integrated into the workplace, it is necessary that all employees are familiar with the affirmed commitment of their company to being disabled-friendly. You should have sensitizing training to help other employees gain insight into how they handle disabled coworkers.
Use Assistive Technology
This is a technology that enables the disabled people to be active in the workplace and has grown by bounds and leaps in the recent past. You should note that most modern jobs need computers and using technology. It is advisable for your organization to invest in apps, assistive technology, and online tools. Also, there is a need to incorporate a lot of signs, but specifically the ring for assistance sign to help disabled colleagues in a time of emergency.
Outside Support
A lot of companies are free to make the use of outside support and offer continued training to the employees. Most government and non-profits agencies are working towards building inclusive workplaces by holding seminars and other awareness initiatives. This helps improve employee participation and morale but also helps bring new perspectives on how to approach this issue.
Make Accessibility a Priority
It is a good idea to have a freely accessible workplace. This will help the employees move around their workplace and enjoy the time spent. For instance, some of the things to have include disabled-friendly parking, ramps at entries and exits, wheelchair accessible doorways, and wide corridors. Other things to have include accessible operating buttons, washrooms, and basic necessities to make the workplace disabled-friendly. Also, there is a need to give special attention to common access areas so that they are accessible to all disabled employees.