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Employee Resource Group/Business Resource Group Resources

The Disability:IN ERG/BRG Leadership Committee created the below toolkit. It contains information and resources on how a company’s disability-focused affinity group can promote disability inclusion through the employment life cycle and can enable employees with disabilities to bring their whole selves to work.

Download PDF Version

ERG/BRG Toolkit, Table of Contents

Part I. Disability Inclusion through the Employment Life Cycle Resources

In order to inform each phase of the Employment Life Cycle, the ERG/BRG can do a stakeholder analysis for each of the four stages. The ERG/BRG can forge partnerships with HR around learning and development teams and human capital management. ERG/BRG members can support managers during each employment phase and help showcase managers who excel in supporting employees with disabilities.

The Employment Life Cycle: The Four Phases

1. Engage Disability ERG/BRG Members in Creating Recruiting Materials that Attract Qualified Job Applicants with Disabilities

  • Invite them to serve as models, recruit co-workers and provide resources for professional models with disabilities for photoshoots for illustrating print and web-based recruiting materials
  • Ask them to provide positive quotes on disability inclusion and their own personal experiences during the recruiting process
  • Request them to engage in the development and the review of all recruiting materials to ensure disability appropriate statements and language
  • Request them to review all recruiting materials for accessibility

Resources:

BRG Members Sourced for Messaging Materials

Engaging BRG Members to Help Create and Review Recruiting & Outreach Materials for Disability Appropriate Statements and Language

Reviewing all Recruiting Materials for Accessibility

2. Engage Disability ERG/BRG Members in Talent Acquisition

  • Invite them to present at disability career fairs, college events, and community events
  • Invite them to participate in disability training for company recruiters with emphasis on interviewing job candidates with disabilities that impact communication such as autism, certain psychiatric disabilities, deafness, and speech disabilities
  • Ask them to serve as mentors for interns with disabilities
  • Invite them to participate in disability mentoring programs

Invite them to participate in interviews with applicants with disabilities to raise the comfort level of applicants around disclosure, requesting accommodations and model that employees with disabilities have the same opportunities for a productive career as employees without disabilities

Resources:

  1. Engage Disability ERG/BRG Members in Pre-First Day Planning:
  • Invite them to provide strategies on effective communications around accommodations with newly hired employees with disabilities including the physical plant as well as information and communication technology accessibility
  • Engage them in training for managers and work units of the in-coming employees with disabilities
  • Invite them to provide counsel on the types of disability-specific benefits and resources, including ERG information, that should be in new employee on-boarding packet
  1. Engage Disability ERG/BRG Members in New Employee Orientation:
  • Invite them to serve as ambassadors to welcome new hires during initial orientation
  • Include them to serve for the first several months as ongoing guides to the company culture, events and programs

  1. Engage ERG/BRG Members in planning, developing and executing training and career advancement opportunities and programs to ensure that individuals with disabilities are fully included and accessibility and inclusion requirements are addressed
  • Invite them to participate on the planning teams that develop training programs and materials and innovative career building opportunities
  • Invite them to serve as trainers or presenters
  • Feature images of ERG/BRG members in promotional materials for training sessions as well as in the training materials
  • Source the ERG/BRG for stories on successful ERG/BRG employees whose careers advanced after self-disclosure and participation in career advancement opportunities & use these stories to promote training and career advancement opportunities and programs (‘What’s In It for Me’)
  1. Engage ERG/BRG Members in Developing/Reviewing Policies & Practices that Impact Employees with Disabilities
  • Invite them to initial conversations on the value and effectiveness of current disability management policies and practices
  • Include them on the planning and development team that develops or revises disability management policies and practices
  1. Engage ERG/BRG Members in Mentoring and Sponsoring Programs
  • Invite seasoned ERG/BRG members to serve as mentors to newer employees with disabilities
  • Engage ERG/BRG members in Reverse Mentoring initiatives

Resources:

  • IBM Reverse Mentoring: Reinforcing Collaboration Between Generations. Download.
  • IBM Volunteers with Youth with Disabilities. Download.

  1. Engage ERG/BRG Members in reviewing Exit Interview Questions and Developing Informal Exit Interviews to Gain Helpful Data
  • Invite ERG/BRG members to review exit interviews for any indications that the person’s disability may have influenced the employee to terminate employment
  • Invite ERG/BRG members to assist in the development of an exit interview to assure that it is structured to create comfort in self-disclosure around any underlying reasons for the departure
  • Engage ERG/BRG members to formulate the questions that can address questions that the departing employee may not be comfortable answering such as why the questions are being asked, where the information will go, who owns the information and if the owner can make change
  1. Leverage the ERG/BRG to boost retention of Employees with Disabilities
  • Engage ERG/BRG in analyzing the culture of disability acceptance
  1. Engage the ERG/BRG Members to Help Plan Alumni Events & Provide Speakers
  • Invite ERG/BRG to serve on planning team for Alumni Events
  • Engage ERG/BRG in recommending or providing speakers for Alumni Events

Part II. Bring Your Whole Self to Work: Enhancing Job Satisfaction, Career Advancement and Company Productivity

When a company disability-focused ERG/BRG develops effective strategies and tools to enable its members to bring their whole selves to work, it will better serve its members and its company. Employees who are able to bring their whole selves to work as competent and proud individuals with disabilities may find that they are better able to focus on their jobs, advance their careers and contribute to their company’s success. Resources that the ERG/BRGs of the Disability:IN partner companies have found useful are listed under three categories: 1. Messaging; 2. Exercises/Activities/Events; and 3. Connecting/Building Trust/Getting There.

  1. On-Line Disability Inclusive Messages, Testimonials, and Profiles
  1. Videos/Selfies: Personal Statements on an Inclusive Company
  1. Story Telling Programs
  1. Innovation & Inclusion Studies
  1. Accessibility
  1. General Resources

  1. Exercises
  1. Activities
  1. Events
  1. Catchy Titles for diversity events:
  • “Be Yourself Everyone Else is Taken”
  • “Everyday Change of Everything”

  1. Building Trust

General FAQs & Tip Sheets

  • “RU Ok?” Introduction and descriptions for how to recognize if a colleague may be struggling with mental health issues and how to have a supportive “r u ok?” conversation, and resources to refer to in and outside EY. 

 

  1. Mentoring
  1. Self-ID

Part III. Additional ERG/BRG Resources

Company websites & Tools

Disability Acronyms

  • 503 References the Section in the Rehabilitation Act requiring affirmation action in hiring employees with disabilities
  • 508 References the Section in the Rehabilitation Act requiring federal agencies to purchase accessible technology
  • AAPD The American Association of People with Disabilities
  • ADA Americans with Disabilities Act
  • ADA AG Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines
  • ADLs Activities of Daily Living
  • ASL American Sign Language
  • AT Assistive Technology
  • CART Communication Access Real-time Translation
  • DEI Disability Equality Index
  • DOBE Disability-Owned Business Entrepreneur
  • DSDP Disability Supplier Diversity Program
  • E&IT Electronic & Information Technology
  • EARN Employer Assistance & Resource Network on Disability Inclusion
  • GFG Going for the Gold
  • ICT Information & Communications Technology
  • ILC Independent Living Center (aka CIL)
  • IT Information Technology
  • JAN Job Accommodation Network
  • NCD National Council on Disability
  • NDEAM National Disability Employment Awareness Month
  • ODEP Office of Disability Employment Policy
  • OFCCP Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
  • PAS Personal Assistance Services (aka PCA – Personal Care Assistance)
  • PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • RLA Rising Leadership Academy
  • TBI Traumatic Brain Injury
  • TDD Telecommunication Device for the Deaf
  • TRS Telecommunications Relay Services or Voice Relay Services (VRS)
  • UD Universal Design
  • VR Vocational Rehabilitation
  • VRS Voice Relay Services or Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS)
  • WRP Workforce Recruitment Program

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