The Hidden Talent Pool: People With Disabilities

By Adam Kaplan
Big Tent Jobs, LLC

Consistent with more upbeat economic data in Q4 2011 nationwide, Michigan residents roundly welcomed holiday news in December that Michigan’s unemployment rate has dropped to under 10 percent, its lowest rate since October 2008. They may have more good news in 2012, as economists predict additional job growth when the Michigan Business Tax will be replaced with a corporate tax, resulting in a billion dollars that business owners can use instead to invest in growth and expansion.

As forecasters see the state adding 70,000 jobs by the end of 2013, in professional and business services, as well as in manufacturing, it behooves companies orbiting in a competitive global economy to cultivate a 21st century workforce that feeds the bottom line, is socially savvy, and which advances its values agenda. To do this, one must tap into a hidden talent pool: college-educated people with disabilities.

The Federal Government is putting the pressure on for companies to act. The Department of Labor has proposed a new role that would require all federal contractors, including those in Michigan, to set a hiring goal of 7 percent when it comes to workers with disabilities. This target is good for people with disabilities — and for the companies who hire them. Studies show that more than 90 percent of consumers feel favorable toward companies that hire people with disabilities; 87 percent of them would prefer to purchase from such companies.

Employees with disabilities on average also have superior attendance records than their able-bodied peers do, and employees with disabilities average one-sixth the recorded occupational health incidents of employees without a disability.

Employees with disabilities, like able-bodied job seekers, mostly want to be cultivated and mentored throughout their employment, and to be rewarded for a job well done. However, they also bring a unique ability to be flexible and to innovate, as they have adjusted to the changes and challenges forced upon them by their disability.

Some disabilities are seen outright, as when a person must use a wheelchair or crutches for mobility. Other disabilities such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, or depression, may be hidden. It is only when supervisors and hiring managers create opportunities and an environment in which these, and all employees, are able to bring their whole selves to work, will these workers give 100 percent and more to their jobs, resulting in increased creativity and productivity.

With wounded veterans returning from the now-ended war in Iraq, companies increasingly have a unique opportunity to add disabled workers to their ranks. For IT, engineering and software firms, this means accessing highly-skilled, technologically astute candidates in unprecedented numbers.

Here again the government in Washington has acted; to give employers a greater incentive to hire veterans, President Obama has signed a bill that includes tax breaks for businesses that hire veterans: up to $5,600 for each veteran and up to $9,600 for each disabled veteran. 

The corporate sector has taken action on the Veteran cause as well. JP Morgan Chase, along with Delta Airlines, Cisco, AT&T and a dozen other companies have spearheaded an initiative to employ service members, including those with disabilities, through the creation of 100,000 Jobs Mission, which aims to hire 100,000 transitioning veterans by 2020. Positions range from entry-level to managerial. Nearly 3,000 veterans have been placed in jobs so far.

While the reported unemployment rate for people with disabilities is roughly double the national average, when including people who have given up looking for work, that number rises to a staggering 70 percent.  Not only is this an injustice which flies against the spirit of America, but it deprives companies of the talent that they need to succeed in the global economy. Michigan business leaders would be wise to focus more of their recruiting efforts on this talent pool before their competitors do.

Adam Kaplan is the Founder and CEO of Big Tent Jobs, LLC, a recruitment agency which places professionals with disabilities at leading companies.  For more information, visit bigtentjobs.com or call 248-281-1386.