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Building your business case

Disability confidence builds better business

The world is made up of all kinds of people. Many of our views about a business are shaped by those that work there. A company’s success depends on its ability to embrace diversity and draw on the skills and experience of all people to treat each other equally, celebrate diversity, and refuse to see ‘different’ as ‘bad’.

Disability is more common than you think, and isn’t always immediately obvious. You probably already have disabled people in your workforce, and as your customers, shareholders and suppliers.

Recruiting staff from the widest possible pool has many benefits. It lets your business:

  • harness greater talent
  • better understand its customers
  • recognise market opportunities.

What is disability confidence?

There is an expectation that governments will provide leadership in creating a disability confident employment environment. It’s considering the needs of disabled people when designing products and services, and creating employment opportunities.

A disability-confident company:

  • understands how diversity affects every aspect of its business: people, markets, communities and key stakeholders
  • creates a culture of inclusion and removes barriers
  • helps its employees, customers, partners and stakeholders contribute
  • doesn’t label or make assumptions about people.

Developing a disability-confident organisation

17% of New Zealanders – almost 660,000 people – have a disability. They shop, work, go on holiday, access information, and do all the things people without disabilities do. But disabled people often encounter barriers trying to do what most of us take for granted.

Companies that understand the impact of disability on their customers will reach a wider market. Those that don’t make their products and services available to disabled people, risk missing out on business – from disabled New Zealanders and also their family, friends and colleagues.

83% of disabled Britons have avoided a business due to inaccessible premises, rude or prejudiced staff and badly designed products.

Is being disability confident expensive?

No – quite the opposite. Anticipating the needs of disabled people by developing a business case for disability confidence will see gains across your organisation.

EmployAbility

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has recognised the business case for employing disabled people. The attached provides an international perspective to why employment of disabled people makes good business sense.

EDN Planning 2011: Employment opportunities like everyone else

The attached presentation provides an outline of the current demographics relating to the employment of disabled people. Given the current employment rates, it outline what the evidence says will make a difference and includes some strategies going forward.

The presentation outlines what are some of the opportunities that can be grasped by a disability confident organisation in serving both its employees (both present and potential) and its customers.

 

Next: Read about the benefits.