Inclusion of disabled people is good for business
Each year, Austria’s enterprises pay a total of more than €70 million as an annual compensation fee for not employing as many disabled people as the law requires. Those companies not only loose money, they also miss out on the opportunity to get valuable insights from employees with a distinct perspective, also on the needs of costumer with a disability. This was the core message stated by the Head of the Federal Social Welfare Office of Austria at the Kick-Off event ‘Profit Recruiting’ which is part of a series of seminars launched by the online job platform Career Moves and CM Creative Marketing Services.
The series aim at highlighting the various benefits that come from the inclusion of disabled people. At WISAG, a facility management company, they already profit from a better working atmosphere, highly engaged employees and better satisfied clients “who will maybe be motivated to also hire disabled people” Edith Steirer says. Some 100 Austrian companies participated and the event will be offered in a number of cities over the coming months.
People with disabilities and often special needs provide an important element in a holistic framework and in the credible implementation of Diversity management. They are increasingly key to effective labour market management as the segment will be growing in the future – also in the aftermath of the ageing of many societies of developed countries. Co-organiser Gregor Demblin from Career Moves states that “there is no industry that could not provide job opportunities for disabled people”. Demblin is co-founder of the online job platform which was launched in 2009 to provide disabled people a better access to job opportunities. Job advertisements published on the platform provide additional icons that specify the respective company to welcome the employment of disabled people. The unique international initiative received awards for its significant contribution to remedy existing inequalities in the labour market, social prejudices and taboos.
In Switzerland, the Foundation MyHandicap and chemical company Dow deepen their collaboration started back in 2010 which also aims at enhancing job opportunities for disabled people and contributing to business success at the same time. Dow financially supports the Foundation and is involved in various projects, including application training for people with disabilities. In the future, the co-operation Dow/MyHandicap plans to tap additional European countries and provide further application trainings. In addition, Dow will provide trainings for its managers to integrate and promote people with disabilities.
