Employ Outside the Box – The Concept Employ outside the box – The rewards of a diverse workforce is a publication produced by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It outlines the labour force problems that exist because of our on-going skills and labour shortages in some sectors and our ageing population.

“Business people need to be encouraged to rethink their engagement strategies” Employ Outside the Box – the Business Case for Employing People with Disability Most Australian businesses are small to medium sized. Most only have general awareness of labour force issues such as the ageing of the population ACCI has taken a leadership role in educating employers.

What are the business issues? Costs Time Inadvertent discrimination

Accentuate the positive Positive reinforcement and education work better than defensive, accusatory styles of approaching employers. Employers need to be convinced of the business case. Employers trust information from employer organisations.

The Business Case An employee with disability can lead to increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, reduced turnover, increased morale, more positive organisational culture and reduced workers’ compensation. The costs of hiring staff, advertising, on-costs, induction and training can be reduced as generally there is less turnover for employees with disability. The number of OHS incidents for an employee with disability is six times lower than that of an average employee and the number of workers compensation incidents is four times lower than that of an average employee.

The Business Case (cont) Candidates with disability generally have very good problem-solving skills, as they have been challenged to find creative ways to perform tasks others may take for granted. The workplace becomes genuinely more inclusive. Hiring people with disability contributes to the organisation’s overall diversity. It enhances the company’s image among its staff, community and customers with positive benefits to the employer brand. There will be benefits to existing staff who find working with people with disability rewarding.

An idea gaining momentum More general awareness of disability as an issue in the community Greater awareness of skill shortages and issues around the ageing of the population. Bringing it all together requires leadership, direction, unity of purpose and action. Keep the momentum and achieve success.

The first step in a journey … Business/industry organisations and DESs can work cooperatively but need to take practical steps to achieve outcomes. Much can be done through goodwill but a strategic relationship must be formed. If possible, government support should be provided to enable these relationships to be established and to flourish.

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