It's important to do this.
It can show you the areas that you need to address most in order to meet your goals for becoming more disability-friendly.
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Maybe your staff can use some guidance in how to interact appropriately PWD?
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Maybe your physical space is not as accessible as you thought?
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Maybe your policies for hiring and supporting employees are too rigid to accommodate people with certain challenges?
How can we assess?
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There are formal and informal ways to assess your current practices.
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You can have meetings, do surveys or interview staff from different levels.
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You can also get a vocational agency to do a formal assessment and give recommendations.
Click on the box below for more on what to assess:
These are some of the areas you should look at when assessing your company's strengths and areas of improvement:
Recruitment:
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How well do you reach out to the disability community for potential candidates?
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Are you connected with any vocational agencies that work with job seekers who have disabilities?
Hiring practices (interviewing methods, criteria for hiring, etc.):
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Do you offer accommodations, if needed, during the hiring process?
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Do your criteria take into account what a person could do with the proper support?
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Are you flexible about how someone could show you their skills? (e.g. demonstrating them rather than describing their experience)
Training:
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Do your training practices allow for accommodations?
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Are you open to providing extra or specialized training for those who may need it?
Support on the job:
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Would you be open to having job coaches working with employees when needed?
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How well can you offer accommodations like specialized equipment or adjusted workspace placement?
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Do you offer flexible work hours or job sharing?
Work environment:
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How welcoming and supportive is your employee culture?
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How accessible is your physical environment?
Here are two forms to help you get started:
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Facility Checklist: Quick assessment of physical space
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Sample Workplace Analysis Form: This looks carefully at a specific job within your company