WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Jane Anderson, Project Director Frank Douma, Principal Investigator Project STRIDE Developing and Implementing Strategies for Employing Teleworkers with Disabilities: Preliminary Findings from National Inquiry Data

Rationale –Number of teleworkers increased in the U.S. from 4 million in 1991 to 28 million in –Despite potential benefits of telework for disabled individuals the number of disabled teleworkers has remained relatively small. WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Project Background (slide master A)

Identify and describe the key elements of telework via a national inquiry and case studies Articulate these elements in the context of effective and innovative telework strategies through two demonstration sites WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Research Goals (slide master A)

Frank Douma WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today National Inquiry

General Telework Employees with Disabilities Newly Hired Teleworkers with Disabilities Types of job tasks and telework jobs available for existing and newly hired employees WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Areas of Interest

Literature Review National inquiry of human resource directors and managers carried out in two phases –Pre-questionnaire –Full questionnaire Two demonstration studies –Minnesota –Wisconsin WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Methodology

WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Employer Sector Representation SectorResponse %Response # Federal Government4091 For Profit2044 State Government1329 Non-Profit1127 Local Government823 Universities411 Other410 Total100235

WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Telework Respondents by Industry

Workforce Size Percent employees26 20 or fewer employees 20 1,000-9,999 employees 19 10,000 or more employees employees employees 8 WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Work Force Size

Pre-screening questionnaires distributed to 15,782 human resource professionals and managers in the government, for-profit, and non-profit sectors 463 employers qualified and 235 of those completed the full questionnaire WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Summary of Findings

For-profit and non-profit (non-government) sectors offer more telework in general Employers that reported having teleworkers: –76% of non-government respondents (54 of 71) –60% of federal, state, and local government respondents (81 of 136) Excluding new hires, larger employers (+500) overall provide more general telework opportunities for persons with and without disabilities. WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Summary of Findings

WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Relation of Company Size to Telework Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities Number of Employees Current Teleworkers with Disabilities 0-209% % % % 1,000-9,99947% 10,000+59%

More opportunities available for newly hired teleworkers with disabilities at employers with less than 500 employees. –11% (14 of 129) at companies smaller than 500 employees –7% (7 of 95) at companies larger than 500 employees WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today However…

WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Teleworker Job Function by Sector Job FunctionsGovernment (136 Respondents) For-Profit (78 Respondents) #%#% Office Tasks Research and Analysis Administrative Customer Service Technician, non-Supervisor Programming Claims Review Call Centers Medical Transcription5445 Dispatch2123

Telework helps respond to specific employee needs and retain employees Also cited by respondents: –Increased productivity –cost savings –reduced operations costs WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Employer Benefits

Trust and accountability Monitoring of a new teleworker’s performance Teleworker skill levels and work habits are “unknown” (lack of physical proximity to the supervisor) WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Employer Barriers

31% were optimistic that all challenges with telework can be overcome. 48% indicated that telework is likely to increase in the next five years. WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Future Trends in Telework

Organization must be ready for telework: –conditions must support the technology infrastructure and flexible work schedule policies Address potential employer risks such as manager and supervisor resistance –Provide formal training and/or telework orientations Pay attention to overall job market conditions WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Successful Practices for General Telework

Job readiness training for teleworkers –Focus on and development of employee skills Fit the job to telework and fully explain job carving/job restructuring WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Successful Practices for Teleworkers with Disabilities

Jane Anderson WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Demonstration

Minnesota Resource Center Stout Vocational Rehabilitation Institute (University of Wisconsin) Goal: Place 20 teleworkers in MN and WI in Year 2 and an additional 20 teleworkers will be placed in year 3. Three customer service employers recruited to participate WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Demonstration Sites

Conduct surveys and focus groups with –Teleworkers (paper surveys) –Co-workers (online surveys) –Supervisors (online surveys) Telework Coordinators will complete surveys, but won’t participate in focus groups. Surveying for job satisfaction, productivity, career development/advancement, quality of home life, quality of employer support services, and incentives to stay on public financial assistance WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Evaluation

Teleworker surveys administered –Before training –After training, before placement –After 6 months Supervisor and Co-worker surveys administered –Before placement –After 6 months Focus groups in all cases will occur after each survey wave –After placement –After 6 months WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Research Process

23 candidates with disabilities recruited –15 interested in pursuing telework careers 6 veterans, 2 workmen’s compensation recipients, and 7 with chronic disabilities 8 of 15 ultimately participated in training (including 3 of the veterans) WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Current Status

4 participants dropped out of training –2 for medical reasons and 2 not interested in customer service jobs 3 customer service employers are participating (Two outbound call centers and one inbound call center) WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Current Status

Half of participants had multiple physical disabilities Half diagnosed with mental disabilities At any given time, 25% of participants are coping with surgeries or med. procedures. WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Observations

Great deal of one-on-one coaching required Much more job and support training has been needed for participants –Lack of previous employment –Limited job options WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Observations

General misunderstanding about telework among employers Recruitment of Veterans through VA Vocational Rehabilitation Centers –Telework not viewed as a priority, makes recruitment more difficult –Only specific jobs and training are available, so narrows veteran pool WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Observations

Most available telework jobs have been in customer service industry Other sectors more resistant to telework –Health field (medical care and insurance providers) difficult due to federal HIPAA restrictions WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Observations

So far, three employers have come on board –hoping for three more by the end of the year. Selection of teleworkers ongoing Telework training offered quarterly. Paper and on-line surveys are being administered. Looking at potential for telework opportunities in types of job tasks such as data entry. WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Next Steps

Questions? WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Thank You

WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Jane Anderson, Project Director Frank Douma, Principle Investigator Project STRIDE Developing and Implementing Strategies for Employing Teleworkers with Disabilities: Preliminary Findings from National Inquiry Data

Telework: To work at home or a at remote location during normal hours or shift, anywhere from one to five days per week, excluding occasional or after hours telework, sales forces, and mobile work. Teleworker: A contractor or employee of a company/organization who works at home or at a remote location during “normal hours or shift” anywhere from one to five days per week. WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Definitions

Employee with a Disability: A person who has a permanent or chronic physical, mental health or sensory condition that poses a barrier to employment. Teleworker with a Disability: –1. An employee with a disability who has transitioned into telework from an existing in-hour job or; –2. An individual with a disability who has been newly hired to perform telework with no prior work experience with that organization. WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Definitions

List Type# of Contacts Martin Worldwide5,000 GSA and For-Profit Telework List3,500 MITE, MRC Employers, and LA County Employees3,625 International Telework Association Council2,100 International City/Council Management Association1,000 National Work and Family Connection List300 Downtown Minneapolis Transportation Management Association150 Human Resource Directors from Colleges and Universities from Yellow Book of Non-Profits Human Resources100 National Association of State Personnel Executives50 Federal Department of Defense Disability Manager Network17 WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Lists Secured

Sectors Response % Response # Federal government For-profit State government Non-profit Local government 8 23 Universities 4 11 Other 4 10 TOTAL WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Employer Sector Representation

WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES: Ready for Tomorrow’s Jobs Today Respondents by Industry Industry% of Respondents Government Agency54 Technology8 Education8 Financial Services7 Health Care7 Management Consulting6 Human Services5 Communication4 Research4 Custodial, Janitorial and Business Management; Hospitality; Industrial; Retail Sales; Transportation 1 Each Other7 Total118