As someone who has long endeavoured in employment before subsequently working on my own business, I can personally say that the road to professional success has certainly been paved with difficulties. Despite this, the changing landscape of today’s employment scene has been a ground-breaking improvement for increasing the hiring rate of people with disabilities. A clear evidence of this progress has been the Disability Confident Campaign by the UK Government, which was created in aid of eradicating obstacles for disabled people looking to be a part of the workforce.
I am a firm believer that without a change of attitudes, there will be no forward movement in the integration of disabled people into various business fields. I, for one, am proud of the efforts that the government has made in promoting the advantages of recruiting a diverse mix of talents into the working pool.
Unbeknownst to many, disabled people have a wealth of skills to contribute in a variety of fields and disciplines. With their unique gifts, companies can harness distinctive qualities not just in their everyday operations but also in big, important projects as well.
One particular barrier that prevents this disabled people from realizing their full potential is the hiring outlook of most employers. Many company heads think that employing disabled talent takes a lot more work but in actuality, these preconceptions are exactly just that – assumptions that are not based on objective data.
As an employer myself, what I can attest to is the fact that there’s much more potential in recruiting disabled people into the workforce. Armed with diverse talents and outstanding insights, it’s needless to say that this particular pool of talents can provide appreciable support in the long run if we just open our minds to various working possibilities.
From my personal experience, being disabled has lent me a lot of valuable lessons in the course of my lifespan. These are lessons I was well able to transfer in helping my business grow. I think the real challenge here for us as employers is to dare to change our perspective in light of the changing times as well.
To be able to stand out, we have to be able to redefine our outlook in providing more equal opportunities for everyone – no matter their race, gender or disability. Only by doing this do we facilitate real growth in a field that has previously viewed disability as a hindrance in doing viable work. In essence business decisions should not just be based on longstanding views that carry assumed implications because the future lies in being able to go beyond viewpoints that serve no value.
With this new initiative in place, transforming well-established opinions into something that’s more inclusive of everyone is a progress I am more than happy to see. Thinking differently should not just be applied on technological innovations but to talent management as well. By supporting this campaign, any business is sure to retain a kind of competitive edge that is not all about developing resources but in understanding and configuring the kind of talent that truly meets their needs.