You have a need, and including more people with disabilities in your workforce is the solution, but how does it happen?
In the last piece we discussed Assess (the A in APPEARS™), today we will dive into the first "P": Plan.
Disability Inclusion starts with Assessment and ends with Sustainability.
The assessment is the input to create THE PLAN.
A Goal Without a Plan is just a Wish -Antione de Saint-Exupery
This quote, “a goal without a plan is just a wish” has been overused by marketing and motivational websites, but that doesn’t make it any less valuable. Creating a solid plan is crucial, especially in disability inclusion, where success is dependent on so many variables that are interconnected. Disability Inclusion is simple, but it is not easy. It requires intent, multiple stakeholders, a measurable goal and a solid plan.
The plan gives you the route and determines the timeline by coordinating and/or sequencing the key activities.
If you are making cranberry orange muffins, you know how important it is to follow the steps of the recipe. They just won’t come out right if you mix the dry ingredients, bake the muffins and then try to add the egg and cranberries!
A solid disability inclusion plan accounts for the variables you learned in the assessment. Think about just one component – the recruitment strategy, which can have 5 distinct different avenues to getting qualified candidates into your workforce. Which doesn’t even take into consideration disclosure communication campaigns and other ways to help with the disability inclusion of the current workforce. Do you want one of the most important parts of inclusion to happen by accident or haphazardly?
No, that would waste a lot of time, effort, resources and goodwill.
Disability Inclusion plans consider the goals, the barriers, the programs, politics and resources to get you from where you are, across your gaps and to the desired state!
Whether you want a disability inclusion consultant to draft your plan, create a strawman for you, implement the entire effort or whether you want to do it all on your own, be sure to start with a solid plan.
Success rarely happens by accident; and inclusion never happens by accident. The unfortunate reality of disability inclusion is that it doesn’t happen without intention and effort. Many companies assume if they just say they want to hire more people with disabilities, then qualified candidates with flock to their applicant tracking system. However, the reality is that if you do the same thing the same way, you will get the same results, so if you are not currently as successful in recruiting, hiring and retaining employees with disabilities, you will need to change what and how you are trying to do it. And (to repeat myself) that all starts with a good plan