Recruitment

When recruiting for regular posts, recruitment of people with disabilities should be taken as a regular HR exercise with a disability employment policy ingrained in all procedures and steps of recruitment rather than it being only a CSR activity.

Effective recruitment of people with disabilities involves two components:

• Accessible outreach and hiring practices-Outreach and hiring resources generally should be equally accessible to workers with and without disabilities. For example, making recruitment literature and job applications easily available in digital and large-print formats, or holding outreach events in spaces without stairs or other barriers and with accessible communications technology, helps to ensure that people with disabilities will be included in recruitment practices. The organizations must utilize recruitment representatives who are willing to adapt to prospective employees’ accommodation needs.
• Targeted recruitment of workers with disabilities-But targeted recruitment enables employers to reach and interview qualified people with disabilities. Advertising open positions to professional networks, community networks, and affinity groups for people with disabilities. Some of its components are:
  • Networking with student professional associations and on-campus career and disability services offices to invite applications from new graduates with disabilities, and to advertise accessible hiring practices
  • Actively collaborating with vocational rehabilitation resources and other relevant state agencies to provide detailed descriptions of open positions and to solicit applications from qualified people with disabilities
  • Developing and publicizing materials describing existing accommodations and resources for workers with disabilities
  • Demonstrating the willingness to provide reasonable accommodations and the commitment to accessible employment options