Meg O'Connell and Andy Traub share best practices from their extensive experience in building and implementing inclusive hiring and retention programs around the world.
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You’re Hired: Onboarding, Retention, and Support for People With Disabilities
Transcript for You’re Hired: Onboarding, Retention, and Support for People With Disabilities
Hi, everyone. Welcome to day two, session two of the accessibility plus summit. Super excited to be here. We've got a great session for you today. Today, we're going to be talking about onboarding and retention and other supports for people with disabilities in the workplace. I'm Meg O'Connell, and I'm the CEO and founder of Global disability inclusion. And I'll be guiding our discussion today.
I'm also super excited to have my friend and colleague, Andy Traub with me. Andy is with Traub and associates consulting. He is a friend, a colleague, we have known each other for about a decade. And we have worked on over a dozen disability inclusion projects together. We both have an HR in recruiting background. So we're steeped in this topic, and I'm really looking forward to jumping in. Andy, before we get started, anything you want to share?
No, I'm super excited. Thanks for the invite to come along and talk about obviously something that's near and dear to both of our hearts, is finding that great talent. And how do you keep that talent? So yeah, I'm totally open to it and this is exciting. So thanks for the invite.
- Good, good, good. Glad you could join us. Well let's jump in and let's begin with the basics. Since we start with onboarding in our title, let's start with the very basics. What is onboarding and when does it happen?
Yeah, it's a great question. So that's a definition that it depends upon if you ask probably about five or 10 different HR people, they'll probably give you different answers. But what I've worked with in terms of the onboarding, it's really that integration for a new hire to be able to come into the company, feel not only is it the job description, where am I going to go and that sort of stuff. What's the culture, who do I know, the basics of where's the facilities. But also how do I do my job, introductions to people. But the part about is to me, onboarding, and when you ask the question is, when does it start? I actually say it's part of the hiring process. It's where people start to get that realistic job preview, they are able to come in and see the job, see the environment.
One is, they can actually de select themselves. But on the other hand, it also gives them an idea of, OK, this is my first day is the first time I go see my workspace. So I think that onboarding piece is a huge aspect. Has to be intentional, but the onboarding is just, it's critical for success. For not only the individual, but also if they're brought on right, your productivity is better, your managers feel more confident. So I think it's just a huge component of the employee lifecycle that unfortunately, times we shortchange.
Yeah. Absolutely. And so often people get caught up in that oh, it's day one, it's day one. And they don't worry about what happens pre day one when you're connecting with a new candidate, somebody that you just hired. It should start, as you said, during the recruiting process. Definitely in the offer letter process of making sure you're putting out your disability inclusion statements, your other diversity statements. Putting out there, we care about you. Talking about access and inclusion. Giving an opportunity to say, do you need an accommodation? Here's who you contact if you do or you have questions.
So you can't start to early in really onboarding about accessibility and inclusion.
Right.
So we talk about, sorry, go ahead.
No, you're fine. I think the other part about is what is your timeline? What's your definition? What does that look like? And I think that being able to sit back and say, how long is the onboarding process should be? There some companies to say 30 days. We're done. Welcome to the company. Other people are like, other companies, it's 90 days. I know, I mean, we had a project that we worked on where it's like the definition of onboarding was until they can actually onboard somebody themselves, they're in the onboarding process. So it's almost like you had this idea that this is an intentional phase of employment that's super important. But it's how your company defines it and how intentionally you're going to be about it.
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. And I think, I mean, I've had, this hasn't been my only job, right. So I've had several jobs throughout my career and different onboarding experiences, probably like many of the people joining us today. You know, I had one several years ago that was just an abysmal experience. You know, I showed up super pumped, really excited to get started. And it seemed to be a complete surprise to everyone that I was in the building.
There was nowhere for me to sit, I didn't have a computer. They didn't know what to do with me because there was no plan. They were scrambling to have me meet with different team members to just have something for me to do to learn about the company. The team members didn't know who I was or that even a job had been placed externally, that they were looking for somebody with my skills. So it was a complete fiasco. And it took a solid week for it to get organized. And for me to have the tools that I needed to do my job.
And it left a sour taste for a really long time. And you know, after that first week I was saying, did I make a mistake? Should I have even come here? This company is not prepared. What does that say about what the rest of my experience is going to be like? You know conversely, I worked for a company that had one of those policies that was for your first year, you were onboarding.
Yeah.
And when I showed up, somebody greeted me, they escorted me to my building, to my seat, my desk, my computer was there, all my materials. There was an early morning coffee to meet everybody on the team and talk about how we were going to work together. You know, I met with my manager at lunchtime and we walked through my 30, 60, 90 day plan. Here's what we want you to dive in on, here are your expectations. So completely different experiences. Completely different expectation setting. And it didn't kill any of my enthusiasm, it actually grew it because of that experience. I was super excited.
So it makes all the difference in the world. And I know we've all lived it.
One of the other things I was going to say, is that onboarding process can actually be a benefit to the company. Right. I mean not only do I have an employee who's coming in, that's your point. Like you can be a killjoy, you suck all the life out of me on day one, or I'm getting re energized and enthusiastic. But the other part about it is, I work for an organization to where it is very customer focused. And so for the first day, guess what? You're a secret shopper. And you're going to give us feedback. And there is a scavenger hunt that the person actually had to go through and they went through the life cycle of the customer and then give feedback. And they actually, and the company actually said, that's valuable information. Because that's your first opportunity to give us real feedback.
It also set the tone for, we want to open dialogue and feedback coming from our employees, but also was something where the company embraced that onboarding and they didn't shy away from it. They're like, this is a business necessity to put our new employees, irrespective of whether you are entry level or senior level, everybody went to the same scavenger hunt and gave feedback. And it was something that's invaluable. So I think it's a great way for companies just to be able to use those employees on day one.
Yeah. You know, I love that. I have never heard that before, Andy. And I think that's so important from the standpoint of, if you're a customer centric company, to live that experience. What should it be? What worked, what didn't? So that continuous improvement gives you an opportunity to learn what happens with the basic customer, what the user experience is like. And as you said, opens up that dialogue. We want to hear from you. We want that feedback. We want to know what works so we can constantly improve. Because that's what it's about. I love that. I can't believe I haven't heard you tell me that story before.
I gotta keep some nuggets for you, Meg.
Right? Absolutely. Absolutely. Well so, as we're talking about onboarding, and since this is an accessibility summit, what are some of the things that come to mind for you when we are thinking accessible onboarding? What do companies need? If we've got HR folks like us joining us, what should they know when they're thinking accessible onboarding? What does that actually mean?
I think one of the first things that most of us go to is like, well, do I need larger font forms? I mean, what format does somebody need to go through all that documentation that we all know you go through. But you know, the other part about it is, are we having conversations about what do you need? What do you need to be successful? Because we asked you the job, the essential functions. But is there something that you might actually need to be successful, such as, oh, by the way, when you go through all your compliance modules when we're all sitting around waiting to hit the green arrow for sexual harassment training to get through, is there something? Do they need a bigger screen? Do they need a screen reader?
Is there something that, so it's almost engaging in that interactive process right off the bat, for them to, what do you need to be successful? So I think that's one of the big pieces is to your point earlier, it's like we're talking about accessibility in the offer letter. We're talking about that, so continue that. Continue that conversation. And so I think that's one thing.
The other thing I would say is the fact that almost to a degree, to be able to sit back and say, what is it that within this department that makes us successful? And almost set those expectations for that individual from the get go. Some companies actually, for that onboarding, it's like on day one you're actually going to see the tool for performance feedback. I mean, here's our values. And here's how you get graded on that.
And so I think it's really kind of setting that level of expectations, welcome to the company. Here's what winning looks like in our department. And being able to set that early, versus nobody's told me how I win in two weeks, am I actually doing what I'm supposed to be doing correct?
Right. Right.
I think providing that certainly does help on that onboarding aspect.
Yeah. Absolutely. Knowing what you're supposed to do is really important, right. So you know, and when I think about the accessibility features, Microsoft, we talk about them all the time. They do such a great job in making sure that their products are accessible and their website provides tons of resources, information and how tos from how to make a PDF accessible. Even that, with the offer letter. Make sure your offer letter, if you're sending a PDF, is in fact, you know, readable to screen readers. Making sure the people that are hosting your day one onboarding where you're filling out your paperwork and do they have, of course, you're going to ask in advance, do you need anything?
Do you have any accommodation needs? Or do you need anything to make it more accessible for you? And hopefully, you get the answers. But there's always that surprise, or someone didn't see the email, or they show up. So having materials that you can readily get large print or have them on hand or being able to say, oh, we've got somebody who can sit with you and walk you through that paperwork. Or if we've got people with, use dyslexia as an example, all the time it's going to take them longer to get through the paperwork. Let them take it home and bring it back tomorrow. You know, whatever. Just thinking about what works for everybody and how to make it an easy process.
Because everyone's nervous to begin with on day one. And if you add accessibility barriers during your onboarding when you show up, it just makes it worse. And you can't bring your best self to work. And that's what we all want to do. So I think having those features in place, and making sure that you have checklists. You know, we all have project plans for doing everything. So we need one for onboarding, who's doing what when, what needs to happen when, so nobody has that similar first day experience or first week experience I had so many years ago.
I think the other part about that though, is actually giving somebody, in case of emergency, go talk to this person. Or the easy button. You know, it's like if you need, this is your point of contact. This is somebody who will be able to help you get through it. I mean, it may be the person that meets them first thing in the morning and kind of guides that onboarding process over the course of a week or whatever that checklist is. But you need somebody to be able to go to. And that's just Basic HR 101. It's like give somebody a buddy.
And I think that's, and some of those things that we talked about. I know I've had HR people come and say, well, what if I don't know what their disability is? It's like, that's not the point. You don't need to know what it is, it's like what do you need in order to be successful. And I think that's a big part of, some of the stuff, yeah, it's good for everybody. I mean it's just if it's accessible, it's accessible for everybody.
And I think that's really one of the great things that, as you brought up, Microsoft. It's like honest engine, I mean, I can hear. But there's just something when I'm watching a PowerPoint that has the closed captioning that's running just helps me a little bit to where I don't think I'm missing anything at this point. And my wife will sit there and she'll tell you, I have selective hearing. So sometimes I do tune out, but I can at least read it, right? But I think that's it.
Right. Absolutely. You know, we do similar. And people use accessibility features all the time. You know, we do, my parents are in their 80s. And we do dinner and movie every Thursday night. And we inevitably put the captions on for almost every single movie. One, they're a little bit hard of hearing these days, and two, if there's any movie that we're watching where someone has any kind of accent, that increases their inability to actually comprehend what's going on. So having those features are so important.
And I loved it when you said it doesn't matter what the person's disability is. Because it made me think about the shift that we're seeing in our space in the terminology, in the language that we're using around accommodations. And switching from that, because when you say accommodations, it means somebody's having to do something to help someone else. And almost like I have to give up something for you to be able to do something is what it implies.
And it's not about that. It's about we have companies calling them job aids or performance tools or other types of things. Or just stuff you need to get your job done.
Right. Right.
And do it well. That shift in terminology is so important, because it sends the message of you're not special, you just need something to help you do your job. And the other piece of that that's impacting is the way that companies are executing that. And we've seen that in the last five years, definitely 10 years, not so much, but it started happening 10 years ago, where companies said, we want to radically simplify our accommodation process. And you know, it used to be really cumbersome.
Companies approached it with a prove to me you're disabled or you have a disability mindset, and then I'll give you an accommodation, which meant, I have to get medical forms or doctor's notes and bring even more medical information that I don't want to share with people into the workplace. And in many times, that process was not smooth or efficient.
And 10 people saw your medical documentation before you got your accommodation. And so we saw companies, and still are seeing companies say, let's get rid of the medical documentation. We don't need to see it. Instead of you proving to us that you have a disability or disabling condition, we're going to trust you on your word. You're asking for an accommodation because you need it.
And if there are questions for whatever reason, we'll have a conversation about it. So companies are getting rid of the medical documentation, which is fantastic. And it's being treated more standard, I need pens for my desk. Fill out the form, go to the break room and get it. Or the supply closet and get it. So we're seeing the shift of really being open and having those better conversations where you're having the dialogue.
Where I do you want to go next, is what's happened in the last two years, and how that's impacting what's happening related to accommodation. So you know, we've had whole new work model thrust upon us. And now, as folks are returning to work, it's the hybrid model. Some people want to stay working from home, other people are desperate to get back to the office, some people want to mix. But what we're seeing is what we call agile customization.
Where it used to be companies would say. These are the five things that we offer employees as benefits and everybody gets them. And now, as we've seen between Black Lives Matter, the MeToo movement, the Asian hate crimes that we've seen, people with disabilities and their accommodations, the one size all fits model does not work. And companies are realizing they have to dig deeper in what they're offering employees. And I am seeing, at least with a handful of my clients, this move to a little bit more of a cafeteria menu style option. And I think this is going to bleed into accommodations, where here are all the things that we can offer, you get to pick five. Or you get to pick two.
Whether it's, I want to work in the office three days a week, I want to work from home the other two. I want elder care or child care support or those types of services. So I'm just curious. We haven't talked about it yet, are you seeing the same thing and the work that you're doing with your clients?
Yeah. And I think there's also this huge aspect that the EAP is now becoming, instead of something that's just on a poster and the break room, it's now becoming a real aspect of helping employees work through the challenges. You may not necessarily have a medical disability, but come on, we all have been in that space to where it's like, it's not my physical side, it's my mental side. And so I think that there's that EAP, that, and even there used to be, well, you can have three sessions.
Well now it's like, OK, wait a second. I need to be able to meet my employees where they're at. And this has been beyond stressful. I mean, whether we were coming out of COVID and the lockdown or parents at home with their kids all day long. That's stressful enough as it is. Or just the fact like, if you watch TV, this is an age of uncertainty and people really are trying to wrap their heads around it. But sometimes they need to talk to somebody. And I think that's the other part of what you said is like, that agileness.
It's like, I don't know how to help you, but here are resources that we can do. And they're opening up that cafeteria piece, to where it's like we're paying more for that because we need you whole. Whatever that looks like, as much as possible. But that, and I think there's just been more of a shift towards like you said, that hybrid model. It's like there's some things that just need, maybe it's not working at my desk. But give me some freedom.
And it's such a good point, because accessibility isn't just the digital accessibility or the physical accessibility. It's having access to those programs that are going to make you a more productive employee. And you kept saying EAP. And for those that don't know what that means, it's employee assistance programs. Those companies have them where you can get counseling services or support services for elder care or child care or gosh, COVID 19 took its toll on all of our mental health. And everyone is talking about it.
So providing access to those types of services at a reduced rate, because we know they're expensive. I mean, how many companies do we see offering the column app or Headspace for free, or even those companies themselves were offering it, you know, the meditation apps.
So I think this kind of segues us nicely into our next part of our discussion, is retention. So it's great to get the people in the door and have them super excited, but we all know, one of the biggest expenses to companies is employee turnover. So the longer you can keep your employees happy and excited and engaged, you will retain them within your workforce. So talk to me a little bit about your thoughts on retention and accessibility and access, and what are the things that folks need to think about?
Well I think, I mean, just by sheer definition out of Merriam Webster's dictionary, right, let's go back old school. It's the fact that retention is an act. And I think that you mentioned, some of the things we just talked about in terms of accessibility. All those are actually retention tools, right? I mean if I can't get, if you're struggling with mental health, well, here's things that I can help you get through to retain you as an employee. And the accommodation is, to your point, is a job aid, is a performance tool to help you do your job.
I think it's a big piece of the retention component is, this is not something you want to do on the fly. There has to be an intentionality to actually close the back door. And I think those of us in the HR space, and you know, we get excited when we get this directive coming down where we're going to go hire veterans, or we're going to go hire another population that we haven't hired before. OK, good, let's go. Because we need to tap into an untapped pool.
But wait a second, are we ready? And I think that's the question that we have to ask ourselves a lot is, have I been able to close the back door first and then hang the shingle out saying we're recruiting? Sometimes we get that flip flopped and it's not until the back door is being used a lot we're like, wait a second, what happened? Oh, we didn't have our house in order. And I think that's another part of that retention is it's active, it's not passive. Passive retention it's called turnover, you know, it's like it's going to happen.
Absolutely. Absolutely.
But being active is being able to sit there and say, we're putting systems in place. We have accessibility. And all of those things we just talked about are in place, but that's an intentional act to keep our human capital.
Yeah. It's such a good point. And I hadn't heard it described that way, that it's an act versus something that just sort of happens. And I think a lot of times organizations will make the assumption, I won't say mistake, but we'll make the assumption. We have good policies, we have good programs, we have good practices, we have good people here. Why aren't people staying? They don't understand why. But it's that, and you talked about it a little bit ago, it's about that engagement with your staff consistently. With your team members, with everyone checking in and checking in frequently.
And not that canned, oh, I guarantee to sit down once a month for 15 minutes with every employee and that forced, we've all seen that happen to be really genuine. And that creates the environment of ensuring ongoing accessibility needs are met. Because we know the majority of disabilities are required. So somebody may be hired today and they've been on the job three years. They now have a diagnosis of MS. You want them to come forward and feel comfortable and able to talk about their diagnosis, how it's impacting their work, how it's impacting their family life, and what are the resources the company can bring to bear to really support an employee who's been successful and doing well?
And so that retention isn't just about your employees that are doing great today, it's the employees that you want to continue to do great when life happens. And how do you support them in that realm?
I think we face this whole thing that's coming out in all HR magazines and in the news, the great resignation is headed our way, right. How do we quantify the cost? How do we quantify people who have been with organizations for a long period of time. I can go find somebody, right, I mean, we're in the recruiting business. We're in, that's part of our HR side, right? But the other side is, how do I replace that intellectual capital that just walked out the door. You don't. And so I think there's a cost to where it's like, well, it costs you $40,000 roughly to bring somebody else in. I can't replace that knowledge that's walking out is invaluable.
And I think that's another act of we need to intentionally keep as much of that in-house as possible. But if we're looking at 46% ish, that are going to possibly leave their jobs and the next, by end of 2022. Wow, I mean I think our human resources component is we flipped from managing processes to your point earlier. It's like we got great processes, we have great people. Yeah, but now we're going back into we have to manage people. And I think that's what COVID really kind of, in the culture, has really put that back into the human side of the work that we do. And I think that's just a big component.
Yeah. You're so accurate. I mean, if there's a gift of COVID, I think it's that. It was a human wake up call for us in this digital environment. And in this environment, which kept us all going and kept the economy going. So I'm certainly not knocking it. But to really focus on family, health, wellness, safety, access to health care, all of those things. And so the human resource field is really being challenged.
And that shift that we talked about a little bit earlier from that one size fits all model to what do we create so we can develop a meaningful environment for everybody? And at the heart of all of that, is access, accessibility and inclusion. And I think it's going to be exciting couple of years ahead.
Absolutely I completely agree. Completely agree.
Yeah, thank you guys for joining us and listening to Andy and I kind of yammer on our thoughts on onboarding and retention. Just want to recap, I think we had four or five things that we covered. First, onboarding can't start too early. Really sets the tone of everything, especially when you're talking about accessibility and inclusion. Second, review your onboarding processes. Make sure that you have checklists, and make sure that you're looking at them with that idea of accessibility. If you're handing things out on that first day, do you have it in alternative formats?
Are you easily able to shift if someone comes up and says, oh, you know, I read lips, but I'd do better if an interpreter was here. Do you know how to find a sign language interpreter with a moment's notice? Those types of things. To your point, Andy, we can maybe not stop, but we can prevent some of the great resignation of making sure we're having that clear two way communication, talking about what employees need to keep them happy and retained in the workplace. And having that open dialogue about what's going to make you successful. And that's going to make the company successful, too.
The fourth one, I think, was accommodations versus job aids. So that shift from terminology. So as you're thinking about looking at your processes and how you talk about those, think about those language changes and how you might simplify the process to make it less stigma inducing. And then our last one, and this was again, another nugget from you, Andy. So thank you. Is that retention is active, not passive. So think about access inclusion, your cafeteria menu options that you can offer for benefits for both inclusion and retention purposes.
So did I leave anything out, Andy?
I think that is, no. I'm thankful. Thank you for the opportunity, this has been fun. Hopefully, our brothers and sisters in the HR space and those who are attending get an understanding of like, hey, let's be let's be intentional.
Yeah. Absolutely. Thanks for joining me Andy. I appreciate it. Hope you guys have a great rest of your conference. Take care.
Thanks. Bye bye.
Live Q&A
Transcript for Live Q&A
(Kevin McDaniel) Wow, thank you so much to both Meg O'Connell and to Andy Traub. We are so grateful for the for the content, for the presentation. It's so enjoyable to to hear both Meg and Andy present in this on this topic because they're so well known and so well versed in this space.
And I'm so grateful that they're here with us today for a Q&A.
(Meg O'Connell) Hey Kevin, how are you?
(Kevin) I'm doing good. How about you?
(Meg) Hold on, I can't hear you.
(Andy Traub) Hey, Kevin.
(Kevin) Hey, Andy, how are you?
(Andy) Great. Thanks.
(Kevin) You know, a lot of folks don't know you both are so modest.
Just how, how, how much work gets done in your space. And I I've been so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with you both for for years. Meg, from your work throughout, around the globe and back home in Florida, of course, and my home and Andy your work with AMC, it's not talked about enough how you know the initiatives and things that you implemented there. I really encourage everyone to visit your LinkedIn page as I hope that's OK. And learn more about you both because I'm a huge fan.
And as you know, as you both know, having worked with you both for for quite a while now, I just trust every trust what you have to say because you are you are you. You are the people who own the space in a lot of ways. And you know, I have to say, Meg, that something I didn't know about you despite all this time after watching your interview with John for Accessibility Matters is that you actually started out.
You broke through and I broke through. But your first process you implemented was to improve effective communication in the financial industry. And I did not know that you started it in there. I started there. And so, you know...
(Meg) I've been around a long time, Kevin.
(Andy) A lot longer than I have. No, I'm just joking.
(Kevin) I just I was like, Wow, that explains so much. Actually, the passion, just everything that you guys bring to it. I did not know that. So this we have a lot of questions. And there's still there's some coming at this point, it's always a good sign.
But the one question I wanted to get in and this was one of the second or third question, but it speaks to that that first process that you implemented was, you know, having started effective communication and trying to improve access for folks who are working in it, working and doing business in the financial industry.
One of the questions that we got actually was, you know, how how how would you advise human resource professionals who are trying to, you know, develop and adopt DEI programs, accessibility inclusion programs without, you know, there's always that fear of rocking the boat, changing the way things are done.
How do you how do you build that, that momentum and develop that process without the fear of retribution? Who do you need to support? What are the must haves and the please? I have that question as to now.
(Meg) It makes a lot of sense. I'll tackle it first. And then, Andy, I'm sure you'll have something great to add. First and foremost, it's the approach I took was to talk to everybody because you never know where you're advocates are going to be and where the people that can support you and see your vision for something like this.
The second piece is for H.R. Professionals. The Society of Human Resource Management is creating a learning series on disability inclusion for professionals, so Andy and I are actually helping them develop it. So the content is getting richer and more robust and focusing on the HR profession.
Because we know when companies get interested in disability inclusion, who do they go to? Their H.R. folks? Right? Help us figure out how to do this and how to do this well. So this is really signifying to the world how disability inclusion is really evolving from somebody's passion to actually professional credentialing.
That needs to happen because there are skills and abilities that people need to have to do disability inclusion effectively.
(Kevin) Yeah, that's it's such a great point. Andy, I mean, are you are you allowed to speak about your experience at AMC?
I mean, you certainly spearheaded something that's still still in place. I know.
(Andy) Yeah, no. Yeah, I have no problem. So one thing I would say to your question specifically is those of us in human resources. I've been in H.R. for 25 years and, you know, similar to make, we've become more policy managers than human resource managers, and I think that there's a distinction, right, because it's like, let's not get ourselves in trouble. But at the end of the day, we deal with the biggest x factor in business, which is the human side of things.
But on the other hand, we can either go from a protective stance to a proactive stance, which is where you kind of unleash your passion, which was, you know, with Meg and what she did from the communication side at the, you know, and the financial side and myself.
There's a passion that got lit and you became more on the offense and pushed the envelope back out. And I think that that's part of where H.R. professionals, we get into H.R. because I mean, this is a really about the benefits and the open enrollment and the things that really get you up in the morning.
Or is it like, I really want to make a difference in my company? Log on to latch on to that and you'll be surprised to Meg's point talking to people. You're going to find champions and you can actually get momentum to do some really great things within your company.
But if all we are back is to policy managers and write a policy to stop people from doing this or that, let's let's look at it more as a way to use our position to activate different things within the organization.
And so that's probably what I would say. Is this part of that passion part? I was actually one of those people, you know, back at AMC, it was like, you know, we, you know, when you have 29,000 different positions throughout the United States that we were responsible for helping manage, you kind of get into this go into a shelter position and an AMC focus allowed us to push the envelope back open, and it's really been a big help, and I think that's really where we as H.R. professionals can make a huge impact. Did we lose Kevin?
(Meg) Well we may have lost Kevin, but you and I can just continue to chat.
(Andy) I was just gonna say we may still be on
(Meg) You know the thing that I'll add to what you said, Andy, is, you know, disability inclusion is here.
So if you're not engaged with it in your company, you're going to be left behind. And you know, people come to the table for a variety of reasons, whether it's they see the opportunity and the potential or a lawsuit or they're losing customers.
And those are really the three motivating factors to get people to the table for disability inclusion. And so what you want is that it's driven by the opportunity the others will get you there, but it's not always the best place to start.
You know that you're losing customers or you have a lawsuit. Oh, Kevin, you're back.
(Kevin) Yeah, I was talking to myself for a few minutes. Okay, Andy, for us. Back to you, Meg. [laughing]
(Meg) So we're like, We're just going to continue to chat.
(Andy) We're good.
(Kevin) It's great. And, you know, but I did want to say that that was a really great point. Both of you made it, you know, take the offensive position, be the driver of policy.
You know, don't be reactive to the policies that exist, be the driver, you know, develop, help develop them and take that offensive position. Meg, I had a question for you that came up. There was a question about language in accommodations and the question was, you know, the accommodation process.
What do you find? Is is is there a benefit to creating consistent accommodation processes across the company? And I think the question came up and I asked the clarifying question, and it was because I think you were talking about accommodations in the language that we use to address accommodations.
Can you just expand on that a little bit on what you meant by that?
(Meg) Yeah, we're seeing, you know, a shift to move away from the accommodation language. So because it feels like we're having to do something special for you.
We're seeing things, you know, accommodations referred to as job aids or workplace tools and resources, just calling it those things. So it doesn't feel special or different. And we're also seeing the shift of the elimination of medical documentation and paperwork.
Companies are wanting to send that signal to their employees of, you know, we're going to trust you. If you have a disability and you tell us you need a larger computer screen, we're going to get it for you because we're going to trust that you need it.
And so really talking about that shift in culture and the language, and so we do see differences in how things roll out, especially with multinational corporations that have, you know, locations in Poland or China or Japan, wherever. So you have to obviously fit in with local laws and customs there.
But we are seeing kind of consistent language that would go across all of those locations regardless of where they are. Andy, anything you want to add?
(Andy) Well, I think one of the things about accommodations procedures is what that's designed to do is really get an opportunity for somebody to say, I need help doing my job and make it a streamlined, direct as quickly as possible access point for them to get that help, right? So Kevin, to your point, is like, standardize that process? Absolutely. But you also not only have to have a standardized process, it just can't reside in a three ring binder on HR's shelf, right.
It needs to be implemented and needs to be integrated into if you need help. This is where you go to get that help. And so I really do think that having that standardized process, irrespective of, you know, what that need might be.
But if there's a way in an entry point for people to raise their hand and say, I need help, or managers can also start that process as well, right? If they see a need, what is that process and how do I get assistance for my employee?
Because really, we are talking about this is a retention thing at this point. How do I retain that talent that we worked so hard to develop or even go out and recruit? And so I think that standardization, making sure people understand how to go about getting those accommodations in those job aides in place are it's super important.
Otherwise they're going to say it's too difficult and I'm out. And I think last week, I mean, we saw some job numbers come out that 4.3 million people resigned from their job last month. I'm like you. What are we doing to retain?
So it's a it's a big deal.
(Kevin) Yeah, I think it makes it makes it more difficult when you know you look at the accommodation process, it's like you want to encourage a standardization. But there's still this part of it where, you know, an accommodation can be many things and it's having that culture that understands that, you know, they can't just say, Well, you didn't follow the process. Well, you know, we need to be open to understanding, as you point out, Andy, you need that. This is an employee who needs assistance, and that's first and foremost, whatever you call it, right?
That's that should be the drive.
(Meg) Well, that's where we're seeing that agile customization of like, yes, there is a standard process, but one size does not fit all. So we need as H.R. leaders to really understand and not be afraid of...
When I started in H.R., the term that was used constantly was, well, we don't want to set a precedent. And those days are over, right. We're in like, how do we keep our employees happy? We have to have a multitude of avenues to do that if we're going to retain employees.
(Kevin) I mean, it's a great topic. We're so grateful to have you guys here. I I since I got disconnected, I'm not sure how much time I have, but I'm going to keep going until Alycia tells me not to.
So guys, because I have because, you know, it's always like this. You know, you run out of time and there's 20 questions, just keep stacking up. Specifically, though, one of these questions here. You guys brought up EAPs as an offering, and it says, Here I have invisible disabilities, PTSD, depression, anxiety.
In many discussions, mental health is not being discussed as a medical disability. How can we bring mental health disabilities to be accurately represented in the D, E and I conversations?
(Meg) It's it's it's a great question and everyone, it seems like every company that we talk to is having the mental health conversation.
So it is the gift COVID gave us, right is that it is a conversation that workplaces around the world are having and companies are investing in different tools and resources for their employees. Whether you know, you know, I saw something last week the Silicon Valley companies moving to a four day workweek, you know what I mean?
So because they know that people want more time with their families and friends, they tested it over the summer. Now they're going to keep it because everybody felt like that really helped with their mental health and connectivity. So I think it's having those conversations within your company if you have an employee resource group making sure that they're
talking about mental health. Veterans groups talk a lot about PTSD and traumatic brain injury, and there's that's a great resource, too. And if you're not getting what you need, an employee assistance program is a great place to start for support for yourself and EAP programs.
They don't disclose what you, you know, the specifics of what you talk about, but what they do report to the company is here are the topics that are coming up. And mental health would be one of those that they say, your employees aren't getting enough mental health resources.
You guys should start investing in those things. So Andy, I know you like this topic, too. So.
(Andy) Yes. I mean, real quick, because I just saw Alycia pop on. I mean, we're going to give us the quick thing is benefit plants are coming out more with more health mental health benefits in terms of we're going to pay you for more visits. There's mental health is the last taboo, really taboo disability conversation that I agree with Meg COVID. It does not matter. Now your mental health is spans everything from moms, dads, kids, everything in between. Long term workers, short term workers, contract workers, full time employees.
It doesn't matter. Mental health is here, and it is really incumbent upon businesses to say, we have to talk about this because that's probably one of the biggest pieces in the accommodation. You know, Kevin, we were just talking about an accommodation for a stool because I have a bad back.
That's one thing. An accommodation because I am having a bad day mentally is a whole different ballgame, and it's no longer confined to certain populations. It's everybody. And I think that that whoever has that question, it's a big thing.
And I would also encourage that individual have conversations and, you know, let people know they only know all the particulars, but to let them know that, Hey, I do struggle with certain things. That's OK, too. But I think it is something that businesses are addressing that we have to really embrace going forward.
(Kevin) Well, well, Andy, I appreciate it. Meg. Thank you both for your time today and for everyone again, for all the questions I couldn't get to. We plan on trying to get most of these answered and posted when we when we post these recordings later.
So I really appreciate...
(Meg) And folks can contact Andy and I directly as well. So if folks want to email me and ask questions, I'm happy to respond. You can find me at Meg@GlobalDisabilityInclusion.com. And happy to respond.
(Alycia Anderson - MC) Thank you all so much.