Disability:IN

Workforce: Talent/Employees

ERG/BRG Toolkit
Download the E/BRG Toolkit (PDF)

Workforce: Talent/Employees

Foundational Stage 

Establish connections with Talent acquisition, HR, and accommodations team 

Participate/influence in communicating the company’s commitment to hiring people with disabilities, on internal and external sites.

Examples of websites to showcase how companies are talking about their commitment to disability hiring: 

Identify career development resources & activities 

Increase awareness and application rate of people with disabilities by participating in disability fora and events to “signal” interest and encourage higher application rates 

Formalized Stage 

Partner with Talent Acquisition Team to advance hiring and onboarding candidates with disabilities.   

Talent Acquisition (TA) teams are focused on finding, hiring and onboarding talent.  They aren’t typically experts on disability inclusion and may not understand the value in including disability as part of their hiring strategy. E/BRGs can play a critical role in ensuring Talent Acquisition and hiring teams have the necessary knowledge and skills to find and engage talent with disabilities.  This resource provides ideas on how E/BRGs can be an asset to, and partner with, their Talent Acquisition teams to improve disability inclusion hiring initiatives. This may include actions such as providing information regarding hiring requirements, conducting disability etiquette training, providing feedback on potential gaps in the hiring process that impacts candidates with disabilities, or helping them build a talent pipeline.

This information is provided to help assist you in finding the legal resources that apply to your geographical area of the US or around the Globe. Please remember that this is not intended to be legal advice. Instead, this is meant to serve as a guide to help you think about legal considerations and where you can find legal resources for your area of need. Laws are constantly changing, and it is recommended that you consult with your legal advisor(s).

  • Hiring requirements
    • US Federal Requirements
      • Keep in mind that some states and cities may also have hiring requirements.
      • AskEARN: Inclusive Hiring: Applicable Laws and Regulations – Learn about US federal laws and regulations that impact the hiring process. 
      • Government contractors – Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 covers hiring, self-ID and accommodation requirements for US government contractors/subcontractors.
    • Global
      • Some countries have a minimum requirement for hiring people with disabilities; important to remind TA to familiarize themselves with local requirements.
      • Global directory – includes disability information such as definitions, legislation, cultural norms, etc. 
  • What can be discussed regarding disability during the interview process.
    Scheduling interviews – Best practice is to ask all candidates if any accommodation/adjustments are needed to be able to participate in the interview process.
    • Since many disabilities are not visible the topic generally doesn’t come up unless the candidate discloses it. 
    • Can ask if the candidate is able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without accommodations/adjustments. 
    • In general, you cannot and should not ask questions about the nature of someone’s disability. In many countries, it is not legal to ask. 
    • May say things like: We want this interview process to be the best possible process for you, do you need a drink of water or anything else before we begin; for virtual meetings: do you prefer to have their camera on or off; our company is inclusive and we have an accommodation process so let us know if anything is needed during the interview process. 
  • US laws related to non-discrimination, accommodations, definition of disability and privacy of health information.
  • Accommodations

Laying the Groundwork: Pre-Sourcing

Are both your organization’s culture and TA team ready to start proactively including individuals with disabilities into their hiring efforts? Below are some examples of how ERGs can work (as an internal consultant) with TA partners and other stakeholders within your organization to lay the groundwork needed for disability inclusive hiring initiatives.  This list is not meant to be all-inclusive, rather is meant to help E/BRG leaders begin thinking about what teams within your own organization can positively impact the successful hiring, onboarding, and retention of individuals with disabilities.

  • DE&I – Partner to help drive inclusive culture, provide disability inclusion and etiquette training for employees, engage leaders in establishing hiring goals.
  • Real Estate & Facilities – Help assess accessibility of parking, office spaces, restrooms, and other facilities used during the interviewing process (and beyond) are accessible.
  • IT – Provide feedback on accessibility of websites and systems or other applications used by employees (including hiring software).
  • Hiring Managers – Provide a safe space for managers to ask questions about disabilities; offer to speak about disability inclusion at team meetings or to provide basic etiquette training; ensure they know the accommodations process. 
  • HR/Benefits – Offer feedback on benefits offerings to ensure they are supportive of individuals with disabilities.
  • Communications team – Work with corporate communications to ensure external-facing websites, social media posts are accessible and have representation from the disability community.
  • Talent Acquisition – The rest of this resource is focused on partnering with your Talent Acquisition team so candidates with disabilities can have good hiring and onboarding experiences and the organization can improve their disability hiring.

Prepare to engage with your TA team 

Tips for getting invited to the TA table 

  • ERG needs to take the initiative to establish a relationship with TA for recruiting with hiring from internship to Sr. level positions; Pick up the phone, send an email, set up a meeting, and/or use networks to make introductions to TA.
  • Determine if disability hiring is on their radar; understand TA goals and priorities to see how disability hiring efforts fit.
  • Find out if TA has someone on the team who is responsible for diverse/disability focused hiring who you could help drive disability inclusion efforts. If not, is there someone on the team who has a passion for it who could work with you?
  • Share how disability intersects with other diverse hiring goals.
  • Offer to audit the entire hiring and onboarding process (apply with screen reader, request accommodations for interviews, do mock interviews, complete new hire forms and training courses, etc.) to see how well the hiring process is working for candidates with disabilities and suggest improvements.
  • Showcase how ERG can support TA staff that is focused on disability hiring.

Help TA understand the unique challenges and opportunities of hiring candidates with disabilities

  • Remind TA team that all candidates have different skills and experience that they bring with them, including those with disabilities.
  • Talk to the team regarding accommodation needs during the interview process and the importance of having a process in place for responding to candidate requests.
  • Provide training and/or other resource materials (see training section of this TA resource). 
  • Educate them on proper/improper language. 
  • Share examples of successful disability owned businesses (DOBE program).  If individuals with disabilities are able to run their own businesses, they can also make great employees. Information on Disability:IN’s Supplier Diversity program can be found at: https://disabilityin.org/what-we-do/supplier-diversity/.  You can find posts spotlighting DOBEs by searching the Supplier Diversity/Procurement category of Disability IN’s blog found at:  https://disabilityin.org/news-events/blog/page/2/

Partner with TA to capitalize on their campus networks

  • Provide information to the TA team so they can more easily connect with individuals who work with disabled students during campus visits. 
  • Share Disability Service Center on campuses of your targeted Colleges and Universities.  These are listed on campus websites.
  • Universities with dedicated programs.
  • Work with TA to develop a campus events toolkit that includes job opportunities, ERG information, and other company information that would be valuable to students with disabilities (toolkit contents may vary depending on informational vs. hiring events). Help ensure all of the information in the toolkit is accessible (i.e., large print copies, collateral materials are accessible).

Identify possible barriers to accessibility

Highlight commitment to hiring people with disabilities externally

Provide Disability Etiquette training and Resources

Engage the business in supporting disability hiring programs

Invite guest speakers to talk about neurodiversity and invite hiring managers to attend. 

Recognize inclusion champions

Work with DE&I team to host an annual event to recognize/award managers and employees who have supported allyship and inclusion.

Engage and encourage community partnerships

Invite TA teams, hiring managers, and employees to partnership events at non-profit organizations that ERGs members are already associated with.

Sourcing/Interviewing

After ERG’s have established relationships with TA and hiring teams and have worked to create a welcoming environment, the focus can turn to how candidates are sourced and moved into the interviewing pipeline. Keep in mind, this doesn’t have to be a linear process and sourcing connections can be made while still laying the groundwork. There are several ways ERGs can continue partnering with their TA teams to ensure the talent pipeline includes individuals with disabilities and the interviewing processes are inclusive and accessible.

  • Help build a robust pipeline of disabled candidates at all levels (not just entry level)
    • Connect with Disability:IN’s NextGen Leaders and inform the TA team about the resume database.
    • ERGs can offer suggestions on where to find candidates in local area if there are organizations that ERG members already work with.
    • Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation – The National Employment Team (NET) is a network of vocational rehabilitation programs across the US that helps companies create a coordinated approach to finding candidates.
    • Neurodiversity Career Connector – a collection of employers committed to neurodiversity-focused hiring initiatives developed a site for employers and talent to connect.
    • AskEARN: Resources for Finding Candidates with Disabilities – Explore resources your organization can use for finding candidates with disabilities.
    • Workforce Recruitment Program – A free resource that connects companies with qualified job candidates for temporary or permanent positions in a variety of fields. Applicants are highly motivated post-secondary students and recent graduates with disabilities who are eager to prove their abilities in the workforce.
    • Local community organizations that work with candidates (i.e., Lighthouse for the Blind, ARC)
  • Hiring Veterans with disabilities.
    • AskEARN: Disabled Veterans – Understand how your organization can benefit from sourcing and recruiting veterans with disabilities.
  • Trade Schools/Apprenticeship programs.
    • US Dept. of Labor Apprenticeship Toolkit – includes information on veteran and disability inclusion
    • Apprenticeship.gov – A web-based no-cost tool that allows employers to promote apprenticeships in their industries and offers career seekers a platform to search for apprenticeships by city, state, and occupation.
  • ERGs can collaborate with TA on recruiting events such as speed resume critique events, executive-level work expos where candidates come in and apply for jobs, as well as campus recruiting events and career fairs.
  • ERGs can invite TA to participate in external events that aren’t necessarily related to hiring but would signal interest in hiring people with disabilities.
  • Neurodiversity Hiring Programs – best practices and lessons learned from those who have implemented programs. Consider harnessing enthusiasm and support around neurodiversity programs to strengthen overall hiring strategy (i.e., bettering hiring processes for non-apparent disabilities and other ERG groups such as veterans & pride).
  • Provide resources on how to perform disability-inclusive and accessible interviews; keep in mind technical considerations and accommodation options.
    • Ask all candidates—regardless of whether or not they have an apparent disability—if they can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without an accommodation. 
    • Provide a welcoming and relaxed approach, and if the applicant has a visible disability or reveals a disability during the interview, concentrate on the person’s ability to perform the job, not their disability. 
    • Ask only job-related questions that speak to the functions of the job the candidate is applying for. 
    • Talk about our company’s commitment to diversity/disability and inclusion and how this is personally important to you. 
    • Focus on ability, not disability. Do not underestimate what someone with a disability can do. Remember, you are selecting them based on their job performance not their skills at interviewing. 
    • Consider giving the candidate an opportunity to demonstrate how they would perform the job if it is not clear from their work history or self-description of how they would meet the requirements. 
    • If requested, provide an option to answer questions in writing vs. verbally.
    • Simplify or break down questions.
    • Conduct the interview in a quiet/low distraction environment. 
    • Focus on the critical skills needed for success in the role vs. nice to have skills. 
    • If requested, provide enabling tools/resources such as screen readers, and interpreters etc., during the interview. 
    • Focus on ability to do the job vs. interviewing skills, and explore how a person could fulfill an important role or address an unmet need, consider thinking outside the box vs. the way we have traditionally done things. 

Internships

Internship Programs are opportunities for students, currently enrolled in a college/university, to experience a learning opportunity with extensive overviews of different industries to apply their skills to a future career.  Internships are a way that some companies introduce diverse candidates to hiring managers who may not have worked with individuals with disabilities previously. One of the many goals to having an internship program is to enhance a pool of qualified candidates to meet future hiring needs.  Another goal is to promote the company as an employer of choice at college campuses.  

Onboarding/Mentorships 

The onboarding experience needs to support all new employees, not just some of them. This is the first opportunity a company has to showcase new employees their inclusive culture and commitment to disability inclusion.

Ensure onboarding is accessible

  • New hire forms need to be in an accessible format
  • Onboarding portal needs to be accessible
  • Training videos need to be accessible (i.e., captioning, audio descriptions, transcripts)

Inform new employees of resources available to them

  • Include ERG information during orientation. If there are slides or an orientation guide, be sure to include information about your E/BRG and how to get connected.
  • Send welcome email to all new employees regarding ERGs. 
  • Share benefits information that would be useful to employees with disabilities (i.e., caregiver benefits, hearing aids, mental health resources).
  • Consider mentioning how to Self-ID.
  • Ensure evacuation procedures that includes inclusive language is included as part of onboarding (i.e., someone may not be able to duck under a desk or take the stairs).
  • Provide information regarding any mentor/buddy program in place.

Mentor Programs

Mentor programs connect employees who want to receive career development advice with mentors who are looking to improve their leadership skills.  Mentoring programs are also opportunities for employees to assist with the onboarding of new hires with disabilities.  Employees are partnered to help provide a resource to help with acclimation to a new working environment and how to succeed in an existing work environment.  

  • Mentorship Best Practices. Includes mentoring plan and suggested activities, mentor tips, and tips for mentoring individuals with disabilities.
  • Consider Managers as mentors. Develop TA Checklist/Plan that is completed by every new employee and their manager. The stigma of having a plan with TA could be a little overwhelming for some so make it an expectation for all new hires, not just those with disabilities. Checklist/plan could include:
    • Employee and supervisor agree to meet at least two times through zoom or through face-to-face to share methods of communication, learning styles, visual Styles, report-Out/Status Styles, etc.
    • Career goals questions and roles & responsibilities accountability and authority of what the employee should expect before starting on day one.

Metrics 

Establishing key performance indicators is essential to partnering with your talent acquisition team because what gets measured gets done. If you want to advance your disability inclusion efforts, it is essential the data measures leading indicators and is readily available to key stakeholders. Some examples of relevant KPIs that will help you establish a talent acquisition strategy include understanding your talent pipeline; establishing hiring goals; and measuring performance against D&I goals.   Encourage use of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to evaluate sourcing and hiring strategies being used. 

  • Suggest TA look at metrics related to pipeline, utilization, and hiring rates and how to use them (i.e., by business unit, department, job levels).
    • Hiring numbers by BU or dept can help identify where more inclusion training may be needed or other cultural barriers need to be removed.
    • Sharing data with managers helps them understand what needs to be done to improve the hiring numbers.
  • Advise on use of hiring goals in manager performance appraisals. 
  • Consider surveying new hires to see how the process worked for them.
  • Work with HR/DE&I team on the development of Internal Transparency Report to measure metrics and goals to improve hiring efforts.

Additional Resources

Encourage employees with disabilities to self-disclose to help remove stigmas around disabilities in the workplace . 

Offer to train or assist HR on handling situations that may arise  

Drive development of and/or support self-ID campaignd for underrepresented groups and ensure that disability is included. 

Self-ID Campaigns:  Resources for E/BRG Leaders

A company can’t measure how they are doing hiring, retaining, and promoting employees with disabilities unless they know the representation of that population within their workforce. Many companies hold self-id campaigns and often, those efforts are led by an organization’s Diversity & Inclusion team or perhaps by a compliance team. Even though ERGs may not lead these efforts, they play a critical role in the success of Self-ID campaigns.  These resources include tips and best practices E/BRGs leaders may want to consider as they support self-id campaigns (or want to encourage starting a campaign) within their own organizations.

Self-ID Campaign Roles and Responsibilities

Below are examples of possible roles/responsibilities for self-ID campaigns.  They may be slightly different from organization to organization, but this gives an idea of what responsibilities may look like.

  • Compliance team – Understand globally if there are government reporting and/or workforce representation/hiring quota requirements and responsible for submitting appropriate data to government agencies.  Define how questions for campaign are formatted.
  • HR – Depending on the organizational structure, HR could be the leader of the campaign communication strategy.  Play strong role in advocating for the campaign and being a resource to answer questions.
  • HR Information Systems (HRIS) – Design and maintain system used to collect data.  Provide reports to the compliance team and other stakeholders for analysis.
  • Global Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion – If an organization has a DE&I team/leader, they would be the sponsor to drive the self-campaign strategy.
  • ERG/BRG – Partner at the table helping make decisions with those driving the campaign, a voice representing the ERG members, promoters of the campaign bringing an authentic voice to the campaign.  Be participants to complete campaign.  Resource for questions from employees and share concerns.  ERG/BRG Leaders should be equipped with answers to employee questions.
  • Legal / Data Privacy Team– Review and provide feedback on campaign materials.  Advise on questions, process, and how can the data be utilized once it is collected so that it protects the privacy of respondents.  This will depend on how the data is collected and what Personal Identifiable Information is collected with the responses.
  • Leadership – Communicate and support the campaign.  Articulate from a business perspective of why it is important to have employees self-identify.
  • Communications Team – Partner to help design and execute the campaign.
  • Talent Acquisition –   Support self-identification from the recruitment of candidates filling out the information on the application. Engage employees during the on-boarding process to self-identify at the start of their employment.

Self-Disclosure vs. Self-ID

Often the terms self-disclosure and self-ID are used interchangeably; however, in this resource we will be focused on self-ID, which is where employees “check a box” on a form vs. self-disclosure, which is when a person shares their disability information to other people.

How companies have separated self-disclosure vs. self-ID

  • Self-ID is typically positioned that the information collected is used to help the company know what the employees need.
  • Some U.S. government contractors, who are required to collect disability data, have conducted both self-ID using the required government form and self-disclosure (DEI Survey) together.  In those cases, the companies have found self-disclosure form completion rate to be much higher than self-id campaign form.

Benefits and Potential Disadvantages to Self-ID

Perceived benefits and disadvantages for employees to self-ID are not binary as they will depend on the individual and whether they identify as having a disability, as well as their work environment and the overall company culture.  It may not be surprising that self-ID participation will swing toward being beneficial to employees when they feel the company will use the self-ID data in positive or supportive ways.  Often, employees are concerned with how the data may be used so that is something that needs to be considered in the communications about self-ID.

For companies, there really isn’t a downside to collecting self-ID information to better understand their workforces.  Information collected can be used to influence hiring, benefits and programs that further disability inclusion (refer to metrics).

Definition of “Disability” for the Purposes of Self-ID 

The definition of disability is often broader than what people think it is. Additionally, the medical or legal definition of disability may not always align with whether someone identifies as having a disability (i.e., cancer survivor). Here are some things to keep in mind as you look to define disability for the purposes of self-ID:

  • Government contractors in the US are limited in how they define disability due to government requirements.  See Checklist for Compliance with Section 503 for more information.
  • Global nomenclature will vary by country. Visit the Disability:IN Global Directory for definition of disability by country. Working with global ERG leads can also help frame the definition to ensure a global lens. 
  • Sometimes people believe they are “not disabled enough” to say they’re disabled in the Self-ID campaign, so your definition and/or messaging needs to resonate with them in a way that they understand if their disability is within your definition for self-ID.
  • Another challenge may be connecting with those who are early in their diagnosis and may still be processing and are not quite ready to identify as having a disability during a self-ID campaign.  That’s ok…as an E/BRG, continue to create a safe space for everyone regardless of where they are in their decision to self-ID.

How E/BRGs can propose and help drive the success of self-ID campaigns

  • E/BRGs leaders can be ambassadors for their members so they can carry the call to action through their different networks and business engagements.
  • Consider collaborating or holding joint campaigns with other ERGs who already self-ID (race, gender, veteran status, LGBTQ+) to raise the idea that diversity inclusion is not full inclusion without disability inclusion.
    • Every employee is multi-dimensional and giving an opportunity to identify in all diverse categories may message to employees that it is a safe place to bring all aspects of yourself to work.
    • Joining efforts can have better results (synergistic) as it could engage a broader audience, helps spread the work, and individuals will only have to go into the system once to select all areas in which they identify.
    • Everyone benefits from being able to bring their whole selves to work (disability, veteran, LGBTQ+, etc.).
  • Communicate through all means possible. (i.e., webpage, blogs, newsletters, videos, posters, computer login screen).
  • E/BRG member videos or podcasts talking about why self-ID is important to them personally, why it’s important to the company, and a call to action.
  • Consider holding campaign during Disability Employment Awareness Month or other disability awareness day and host a panel of DEI, Leaders, ERG members, Disability:IN, other external speakers to talk about disability inclusion and the importance of self-ID. Discussion topics could include:
    • What is a disability,
    • Employee with disability sharing why they chose to join your company to build their career,
    • Where to go for resources and accommodations,
    • The importance of allyship to ERGs and the organization,
    • Leadership’s commitment to disability inclusion,
    • Why employees should participate in self-ID.
  • Consider holding campaign during annual benefits enrollment when employees are already going into your systems to enter information.
  • Identify disability inclusion champions who are part of the leadership team, starting with your ERG Executive Sponsor and provide them with the information needed to propose and/or support the ERGs proposal to begin self-id for candidates and employees with disabilities.

ERGs can encourage participation & help employees overcome concerns about participating in Self-ID

  • Build Trust
    • Share how data will be used/confidentiality of data. 
    • Clearly communicate who has access to the information and how it is being used.
    • Create a welcoming and inclusive culture so employees feel more comfortable when asked to self-disclose/self-id.
  • Consider sharing stories of how self-ID data has been or can be beneficial to individuals with disabilities and the company.
  • Answer the question “What’s in it for me?”
    • The information helps the company become aware of and address gaps in resources and support for all, such as physical/digital accessibility needs, mental/behavior health options, etc. 
    • Can highlight the need for more diversity and representation in hiring, recruiting and talent development/management specifically in leadership.
    • Promotes positive change in disability inclusion and support. 
    • Drives improvement to accommodation processes. 
    • Informs health & welfare benefit needs.
    • Focus campaigns on the employee and talk about them having the opportunity to really shape the workforce future. 
    • Allows company to understand demographic information (see metrics).
    • Helps your company secure and/or continue to hold government contracts.

Employee Testimonials Can Encourage Employees to Self-ID

  • Employee testimonials can be a very powerful tool to use to help other employees feel more comfortable with self-ID. They can come from ERG members, allies, other employees with disabilities and/or caretakers.
  • Testimonials could be shared as quotes on a website or newsletter, employee blog posts, podcasts or short videos.
  • Testimonial topics could include experience as an E/BRG leader or E/BRG member, why self-ID is important to them, company resources that have helped them (accommodation, benefits, flexibility, caretaker resources, etc.), personal experiences of inclusion at the company.
  • Testimonials should be a sincere statement from the employee but sometimes they would like an idea of what you are looking for so here are some sample testimonial quotes:
    • I choose to self-ID because it helps me shape a more inclusive narrative, sets an example for the next generation of equitable leaders, and uplifts the voices of so many communities who have been historically left behind.
    • I choose to self-ID because it is important to me to share, show, and demonstrate that it is okay to be who you are and to take pride in it. I think this allows others to be open and start to feel comfortable to do the same.
    • I choose to self-ID because self-identifying helps promote an inclusive culture to ensure everyone can show up as their professional whole selves without judgement.
    • I choose to self-ID because I want to give other courage to be themselves by taking the first step and being open about my own identity.
    • I choose to self-ID because leadership matters, and we need role models, strong mentors, advocates, and visible disabled leaders to create an even more impactful and inclusive culture.
    • I choose to self-ID because it will help us better evaluate current policies and procedures, facilitate further dialogues, and determine what we need to do to take the next step toward full inclusion.

Senior Leadership Support

  • We all know the importance of having senior leaders self-disclose, but many only disclose if they are caregivers. Having leaders discuss being a caretaker or ally is still important and can start a culture shift to help de-stigmatize disability. Of course, it is even more impactful to engage any leaders who identify as having a disability. Consider engaging leaders in fireside chats, videos, written messaging, or having discussion with other leaders.
  • Leverage existing relationships to get introduced to executives. Then you can engage those leaders through relationship building, networking, facilitating awareness and focusing on strengths and opportunities. 

Campaign Slogans

  • When determining a slogan, be sure it would fit within your company culture and other inclusion efforts taking place within your organization. Sample slogans include:
    • This is Me
    • Count Me In
    • #iCount
    • Diversity Works
    • Proudly Me
    • You Belong Here

Sample Campaigns

Self-ID Campaigns for Non-Government Contractors

  • Per the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), non-government contracting employers may ask employees to self-identify as individuals with disabilities if they are voluntarily using the information to benefit individuals with disabilities (vs. government contractors/sub-contractors who are required to ask individuals with disabilities to self-ID). The employer must also be taking actions that benefit individuals with disabilities and the invitation to self-identify must be necessary in order to take those actions. For additional EEOC requirements for non-government contractors who wish to self-ID, refer to the EEOC enforcement guidance and work with your legal counsel.
  • Defining “Disability” for non-government contractors:
    • Whether you decide to use ADA, social security, or another definition, be sure you are clear so employees can understand what “disabled” means related to self-ID.

Global Campaigns

  • Each region/country may need to support the self-id campaign differently based on local rules, customs, terminology, etc. It’s important to look at the local culture when talking about disability and how receptive employees will be to identifying based on stigma/acceptance in their country/region.
  • Legal counsel should be consulted before proceeding with self-ID globally. There are country-specific regulations that need to be considered (i.e., in some countries, it is ok to ask employees to self-id, but you may not be able to store the data due to privacy laws, in other countries you can’t even ask the question or it needs to be phrased a certain way.)

Metrics

It is unlikely E/BRG leaders will get access to the raw data (especially if your company is a government contractor/sub-contractor) but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t provide suggestions on how the company and the ERG could benefit from analysis of the consolidated data.

  • What Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are used to know if you are doing a good job?
    • Since it may be difficult to define what an “acceptable” participation rate or % of population would be, consider using improvement of these numbers over time as a key metric.
    • Government contractors have a goal of 7% and the CDC reports that 1 in 4 persons has a disability; for non-government contractors, an ERG can suggest a self-ID rate to aspire to reach…perhaps the 7% to start and work up to 25% representation.  Keep in mind that participation is voluntary so culture will play a large part in who participates.
    • While many companies are striving to reach around 7% representation in each of their job groups, it comes back to the self-ID and how participating can positively impact inclusion efforts. ERGs can help communicate that to the organization.
    • Companies measure the total percent of the population against baseline population, but they can also measure the subset of who went into the tool to make any selection (participation). 
    • Benchmark organizations who are deep into this journey to see what their numbers look like and how you compare. The Disability Equality Index (DEI) reports and best practices are updated each year to reflect new benchmark information. These can be referenced on the DEI webpage. 
  • Suggest different ways HR/DE&I/ERGs may use the data.
    • Information is a good way to inform the company that they need to hire more individuals with disabilities to ensure the employee population representation looks like the local population and/or the population from which you recruit.
    • Consider looking at data to see if you are only hiring individuals with disabilities into certain departments, jobs or levels within the organization. 
    • Tie self ID data to other data sources to evaluate where employees could be better supported (i.e., cross reference self-ID and insurance usage or EAP usage to indicate benefits that could be of value to the employee population).
    • Map where those that disclose sit within the organization’s hierarchy. This will help the company understand if there are areas of the company that might feel less comfortable or where inclusive practices may not be practiced.
    • Perform equity analysis to assess state of disability inclusion in hiring, promotions, retention/turnover, participating in leadership development programs, etc. and to influence culture and programs to support the population.
    • Suggest comparison of numbers of self-id in work-climate surveys vs during self-id campaign to see if there is a gap in those who identify in each situation.
    • Measure engagement survey response differences from various employee populations.
    • ERGs can use the data to measure the impact they have on things like belonging and retention.
    • ERG can suggest the development of an internal transparency report to share disability inclusion information. Reports could include:
      • Disability inclusion vision, 
      • Statement from CEO or ERG Executive Sponsor, 
      • Personal employee stories on how company is supporting their growth, 
      • Representation goals, 
      • Current metrics (hires, % who used LOA to care for family member, self-ID participation, % of population who identifies as having a disability, intersectionality data), 
      • Information related to progress made on inclusion goals (numbers and actions), and future actions to be taken to help improve representation. Such reports could tie into actions different parts of the organization can take to improve inclusion. Here is a sample of what one partner company includes in their report:

Getting Here: Recruiting, onboarding, and branding.
Possible Actions:    

  • Tracking of new hires year over year from underrepresented groups.
  • Develop intern and new hire mentorship programs to benefit underrepresented groups.

Succeeding Here: Engaging and fostering an environment of DEI, providing access to development and advancement opportunities, creating consistency of experience for all.
Possible Actions:

  • Launch and enhance Self-ID platform.
  • Offer more choice and well-being in benefits support.
  • Implement company-wide recognized days for disability pride celebrations such as Global Accessibility Awareness Day or International Day of People with Disabilities.
  • DEI training included Ethics and Integrity training. 
  • Include DEI goals in formal performance development process.

Leading Here: creating clear paths for professional promotion, cultivating talent to rise to senior leadership, serving our communities through stewardship and board service.
Possible Actions: 

  • Tracking of promotions from underrepresented groups.
  • Tracking of professionals actively involved in Business Resource Groups representing underrepresented groups.
  • Collaboration with company’s Foundation and Community Impact groups. 
  • Company independent and employee matching donation to community impact groups of underrepresented groups.

Many companies are now reporting diversity data externally (including disability self-id information) as part of their annual reports, CSR reports, and/or on their websites. Some examples include: 

Sample Frequently Asked Questions 

These are meant to be a starting point for questions.  Questions and answers should be developed to fit your company culture, how your data will be used, and should be reviewed with legal counsel.

Q: What am I being asked to do and why?
A: We are asking all U.S. team members to participate in a voluntary self-identification process to share information pertaining to their race/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, gender identity and sexual orientation. This will help us better understand the composition of our workforce and provide more impactful programming, initiatives, and resources to optimize the team member experience.

Q: How is the company going to use the information I share?
A: We continue to leverage the benefits of talent analytics, and the company may share self-identification results in to inform Diversity, Equity & Inclusion objectives, understand the composition of our organization, and to optimize the team member experience. Additionally, as a federal contractor, we are required to submit reports containing general information about our workforce makeup. These reports do not include personally identifiable information. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy. 

Q: Will my race/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, gender identity and/or sexual identity self-identification information be considered in employment decisions or reported to my insurance provider?
A: Your self-identification information will remain confidential and may be used in aggregate form. Your manager will not have access to this information, and it will not have any adverse implications or be considered in any adverse manner. It will not be provided to your insurance provider.

Q: What should I do if I have questions about how my self-identification information is being used, collected, or stored?
A: Please discuss with your manager, or contact [NAME]. 

Q: What happens if I do not self-identify my race/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, gender identity and/or sexual orientation?
A: Participating in the self-identification process is voluntary. You always have the option to opt-out of disclosing information related to your race/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, gender identity or sexual orientation. For accurate reporting, we would prefer that you select “I don’t wish to disclose” instead of not participating in the self-identification process at all. 

Q: How do I change my previously entered self-identification information? 
A: To change your race/ethnicity information, please contact: XX. To change all other self-identification information, simply log back in and complete the ‘Background Information’ section again.

Additional FAQs to consider:

  • What do you hope to accomplish by asking for this information?
  • What data can/cannot be used and for what purposes (govt vs. non-govt contractors)
  • What is considered to be a “disability”? How do I know if I have a “disability”?
  • What happens when coming forward and identifying? – will improve the company’s business – company can utilize your skills and experiences for our products, Manager will not be notified, this is not an accommodation request
  • Where will the information be stored? How will data be used? Who will have access to the information? Will my manager see the information?
  • Do I have to participate? Do I need to self-identify again if I have already done so before?
  • What’s in it for me—why should I voluntarily self-ID as having a disability?
  • My disability doesn’t affect my work, do I need to disclose it?
  • What is the process for requesting a workplace accommodation if I have a disability?
  • For global campaign be sure there is Q&A about consent and how data will be used, data privacy, etc. 

Sample Communications 

These samples are being provided as a way for E/BRG leaders to suggest different types of communications and wording to those running the self-id campaigns.

Overall Key Message Example

[Company name] has a welcoming workplace where we recognize everyone as an individual.

Today, we ask our team members to provide several pieces of information, including their level of engagement, performance measures as well as personal information such as race/ethnicity, veteran’s status, and any known disabilities. This personal information is used to help us determine Business Resource Groups, benefits and programs that will improve the team member experience.

We handle this data very carefully and will measure the information against our engagement and benefits data to ensure we are meeting the needs of all team members who identify as disabled 

Providing the information is optional. Your manager will not have access to this data. Only select individuals in HR and leadership have access to the background information in Employee Self Service.

Leader Brief Example

Header: Update Your Background Information in Employee Self Service

Sub-Header: Encourage your teams to complete new fields in SAP next week

On Monday we will be sharing details on three new fields that have been added to the Background Information section in Employee Self Service. These three questions will center around disability identity, gender identity, transgender identity, and LGBTQ identity.

All U.S. team members, regardless of background, are encouraged to update their background information including answers to these optional questions to help the company better understand our workforce population so we can create more impactful programming, initiatives, and provide resources and support.

Please encourage your teams to complete these (and our other) self-ID questions by visiting Employee Self Service and clicking on “Background Information”. 

Leaders can fill out the self-ID section today by visiting Employee Self Service portal! 

Employee Communication Example

TO:Team Members
FROM:Sr. Executive
DATE:
SUBJECT:Update Your Background Information in Employee Self Service
NEED TO KNOW:U.S. team members are encouraged to update their Background Information in Employee Self Service, with additional fields: disability identity, sexual orientation, gender, and transgender identity.Only select individuals in HR and leadership have access to this background information.Providing this information will help the company better understand each individual and offer relevant Business Resource Groups, benefits and programs.
ACTION NEEDED:Review the below email memo.Visit Employee Self Service and click on “Background Information” to complete the optional form.

We ask our team members to provide several pieces of information, including their level of engagement, performance measures as well as personal information, such as race/ethnicity, veteran status and any known disabilities. You may have provided this information to us when you joined the company or later in your career. We ask for this information because we want to maintain a welcoming workplace where we understand and recognize each individual. The personal information we request helps us determine Business Resource Groups, benefits and programs that will improve the team member experience.

We are requesting all U.S. team members to update their background information to ensure our employee information remains up to date. Additional pieces of information we are now offering team members to update disability identity, sexual orientation and gender identity. To better understand each individual who works at [company name], we have added these fields in our Background Information records in Employee Self Service. 

We understand this information is very personal. Like all background information, providing disability identity, sexual orientation and gender identity is optional. We take our team members’ privacy seriously and are managing this data very carefully. We will measure the information against our engagement and benefits data to ensure we are meeting the needs of all team members. Your manager will not have access to this data. Only select individuals in HR and leadership have access to the background information in Employee Self Service.

Team members can update their background information at any time, but we encourage you to do so by [date]. To fill out this voluntary form please:

Log in to the Employee Self Service portal (link)…

Thank you for your participation and support in helping us further our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. If you have any questions or concerns on the self-ID form or process, please email [email address].

Thank you.

E/BRG Members Email Example

BRG Members – 

On Monday, you will receive an email from [Sr. Executive name]. In the email, s/he will announce the addition of new questions that have been added to the company’s self-ID form in Employee Self Service.

Historically the self-ID form has included questions on race/ethnicity, and veteran status. The new questions that have been added center around disability, gender, transgender, and LGBTQ identity.

I hope that as a BRG member you are familiar with the self-ID form and its importance in helping the company understand our team member population. Our ask today is that you lead by example as a BRG member and complete this voluntary and confidential self-ID form, including the additional new questions, to support the company’s efforts in furthering our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming and providing resources and support to our team members.

[INSERT BRG LEADER/MEMBER TESTIMONIALS]

To fill out this voluntary form please:

  1. Log-in to the Employee Self Service…

In addition, if you’d like to further your support for this initiative, we encourage you to share the news of the new fields in the self-ID form and their importance, with at least two people in your team member network. Championing this cause will help to ensure we’re reaching as many people as possible!

Thank you for your continued support in our BRG and DEI efforts. If you have any questions or concerns on the self-ID form or process, please email XX.

Additional Resources

Here are some additional resources that may be helpful to E/BRG leaders and/or those who are leading the self-ID efforts.

Department of Labor: 503 Regulations, Section 503 FAQs, Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form – Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is applicable to Government Contractors/Sub-Contractors, but may have information that could be helpful to non-government contractors as well.

Operational Stage 

Serve as escalation point and advocate for employees with disabilities (possibly integrated if ERG is escalation point instead of a sounding board) – influence development of ombudsperson role for individuals with disabilities or process to escalate concerns 

Integrated Stage 

Create mentorship program for employees with disabilities to improve retention, performance evaluations, promotions 

  • You can focus on measuring the outcome/impact via personal /professional development, or more towards how the business would benefit 
  • Metric – Self-disclosed individuals assigned to a mentor (#) 

Encourage HR to assess the state of employees with disabilities within your organization, regarding hiring, retention, promotion, and performance evaluation 

  • Metric – Total job roles hired into (#); number if hires who self-identify as having a disability 
  • Metric – Unique job roles hired into (#) 

Influence equity analysis and improvement programs in HR to improve the status of employees with disabilities 

Evaluate sourcing and hiring of individuals with disabilities 

Where is the pipeline of suitable employees with disabilities for your industry? 
If it is lower than expected, where in the hiring activity pipeline are the gaps? 

  • Metric – utilization of the pipeline 
  • Metric – hiring rate of people with disabilities 
  • Track turnover of employees with disabilities and recommend program development to address gaps. 
  • Metric – Termination/retention rates (voluntary/involuntary) compared to other under-represented groups; compared to the rest of the organization 
  • Metric – Reason for leaving of those with disabilities vs. those without 
  • Metric – Track progress, year over year 

Evaluate promotion/performance programs 

  • Metric – promotion rate and performance ratings compared to other under-represented groups; compared to the rest of the organization 
  • Metric – Self-disclosed individuals in stretch assignments (#) 
  • Metric – Self-disclosed individuals in shadowing opportunities (#) 

Dynamic Stage 

Influence on skills assessments rather than behavioral or psychometric if hiring assessments are used 

Have company include ERG accomplishments and skills development into performance evaluations 

Evaluate performance through objective rather than subjective measures 

Promote customizing career progression plans to tailor to the individual instead of one-size fits all approach 

Drive the company to develop a self-ID campaign for underrepresented groups and ensure that disability is included. 

Influence HR department to create formal program with Talent Acquisition team focused specifically on disability 

Influence the procurement/hiring department for contractors, to ensure accessibility compliance for contractors and increased hiring of contractors with disabilities 

Provide input into Emergency Response/Evacuation Procedures 

Collect feedback from individuals with disabilities (internal/external) to provide feedback to company (inclusion efforts, accommodations, opportunities) 

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