Compliance? National Partnerships and Effective Strategies for Competitiveness USBLN- October 2013 Beth Butler, JD, Manager, Centralized Leaves and Accommodations, Lowe’s Companies Inc. Kathy West-Evans, MPA, CRC, Director of Business Relations for the NET at CSAVR Mike Corso, Co-Founder, disaBLEDperson Inc. Kristopher Corso, TAP Project Manager, disABLEDperson Inc.

Beth Butler

Partnerships that…

Partnerships-Built to Last USBLN/NET CSAVR –NET Commitment Businesses Engaged 2004 CSAVR National Employment Conference

Response to Business The National Employment Team, (NET) - a national connection to a single point of contact in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the territories Connection to qualified applicants, resources and services whenever and wherever our business needs the support

Beth’s Tool Box 80 publicly funded vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies Access to 25,000 professionally trained VR Staff in coordination with their community partners Supported by a 3.5 billion dollar annual budget to train and employ the talents of people with disabilities

Business Services Pre-employment Services Recruitment EO/Affirmative Action Retention …and now

Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR) Membership organization of VR Directors 80 agencies: every state, territories, D.C. Federal/State funded $3.5 billion 25,000 staff Serve one million people with disabilities annually Partnered with the VA-VR&E, AIR Largest talent pool of people with disabilities in the country Supported by VR leadership and Business Consultants Vendor Network of10,000 Community Partners

Building the NET: We Asked our Business Customers National in Scope - VR as One Company Dual Customer Model Customer Driven Network Build relationships and trust The National Employment Team (NET) Easily Accessible Network: build the infrastructure for national deliverability 80 VR Points of Contact – Business Consultants VR Systems: Veterans VR&E , AIR Community Partners – Vendor Network Leverage the Strengths of a National System with the Ability to Deliver at the Local Level Based on the Needs and Footprint of the Business Customer

Value Added Services: Defined by Business Customers Pre-Employment Internships Training HR/Staffing Recruitment & Promotion Benefits &Compensation Retention Supports Employee Advisory Services Accommodations Work Site Assessment Assistive Technology Staff Training Disability Awareness ADA Employment Laws Financial Supports WOTC Barrier Removal Universal Designs Contracts Facilities Programs/Services Assistive Technology Information Technology Diversity Programs Compliance EEO and Affirmative Action Legal Labor Relations Policy Development Risk Management Product Development Customer Service Marketing & Outreach

Developing a Strategy with Business Agreement with Lowe’s – Federal Contractor The Agreement: Strategic Plan: Business Operations: Corporate, Retail and Distribution Corporate Support Human Resources Training Facilities Legal Current Models Job and Site Analysis Four tiered approach: competitive, assisted or transitional employment, pre-training, retention Disability awareness package

Agreement with Lowe’s – Federal Contractor Moving from Compliance to Gain the Competitive Edge Year 1 Outcomes : 556 hires at corporate, in retail and at distribution centers States: AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MS, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, SC, TX, UT, VT, VA WA, WI, WY Year 2: added focus Increased focus on retail sites Centralized accommodation unit Online application process Hiring Retention National Contract – Interpreters and VRI Technical assistance and expertise ◦ Disability Awareness Package - Company Wide

The Future of Disability Employment The Federal Executive Order What is it? What can we learn? How does this impact the available talent pool? Federal Contractors – Section 503 Model Agreements – Outcomes Strategic Approach - company specific Partners – the talent pools and supports Strategic Alliances and Partnerships OPM USBLN NILG Talent Acquisition Portal® Built with a dual customer approach National and Centralized Partnerships – future development: VA and AIR, general public Candidates with a range of skill sets and geographic availability Building career strategies with the future workforce Voluntary Self-disclosure

The TAP Partnership Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation Membership organization of VR Directors 80 agencies: every state, territories, D.C. Serve one million people with disabilities annually The NET 80 VR Points of Contact – Business Consultants Customer Driven Network disABLEDperson Inc. Helping to reduce the unemployment rate of Veterans and individuals with disabilities nationwide. Two national job boards for individuals and veterans with disabilities

What is TAP? Talent Acquisition Portal® TAP offers Business: Centralized talent pool of Vocational Rehabilitation Candidates Job Posting system for business Online system TAP offers Business: Opportunity to post jobs Opportunity to search VR candidates Resumes Opportunity to brand their jobs to disability community. Located at tapABILITY.org The largest talent pool of candidates with disabilities in the United States offered by Vocational Rehabilitation

How it works

Benefits for Employers Posting Jobs that will reach all 80 Agencies in 50 States, Territories, and DC Voluntary Self-Disclosure of Candidates State of the art Semantic job matching system State of the art API which will integrate seamlessly with any company career site. Resume searching Job Reporting Metrics The largest centralized talent pool of individuals with disabilities The ability to decide if communication between employer is with Counselors only, or Candidates as well. VR Counselors searching your Jobs as well as Candidates Ability to profile company on a Company Profile Page Online Job Fairs Linkage Agreement Concept Geographic availability of Candidates

What separates TAP: Linkage Agreement Concept: TAP allows business to make one agreement that will cover 80 agencies across 50 States and US Territories (The NET). Talent Pool: TAP holds the largest centralized talent pool of individuals with disabilities in the nation. By being on TAP, individuals with disabilities are voluntarily Self-Disclosing. TAP offers a National Support system where up to 25,000 VR staff will work to have candidates see your jobs. Future expansion will include partnerships with the VA, AIR, and the general public.

How can business partner with TAP for effective strategies and competitiveness? By becoming an active employer in TAP Posting jobs in the Talent Acquisition Portal® provides an opportunity to establish a linkage agreement concept with The National Employment Team (The NET) that allows employers to connect to the largest talent pool of individuals with disabilities in the United States. Agreement will reach 80 agencies, in 50 states, Territories, and DC. Brand your company to the disability community through the Talent Acquisition Portal® By making it your focus to “TAP into Talent” at tapABILITY.org