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Walgreens is Leading the Way

Buzzing in the Workplace
By: Rob Roy 

Walgreens is Leading the Way
Buzzing in the Workplace
By: Rob Roy

Walgreens, the nation's largest drugstore chain, is leading the way in enhancing hiring of people with disabilities. On June 14, 2007, the company opened a new distribution center in Anderson, North Carolina equipped with technology and management training to facilitate hiring and retaining people with disabilities.  The center has touch screens for the vision-impaired, flexible workstations, wheelchair ramps and elevators. All workers receive disability awareness training, and managers go through a special program run by the University of North Carolina on supporting disabled employees.

For the past year, the distribution center has staffed approximately 400 people, almost 40% of who have a disclosed disability.  The center’s creation is not about empathy and is not subjected to lower performance expectations. Each team member is expected to perform at same level regardless of whether or not he or she has a disability.

In fact, the distribution center has shown the positive contribution people with disabilities can make to companies. The center is Walgreen’s most efficient distribution center in the United States and has been a tremendous success that the company is opening a new center in Windsor, Connecticut later this year.
The following is a  clip about the Anderson, N.C. center featured on NBC’s Nightly News with Brian Williams:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=B2akb4v2cUQ

To learn more about the distribution center in Anderson, North Carolina or to consider employment opportunities with the company – visit www.Walgreensoutreach.com.  The website is designed to be accessible by people with sensory, physical and cognitive disabilities

Thanks, Walgreens, for being an example and leading the way.

U.S. Federal Government Hiring

Buzzing in the Workplace
By: Rob Roy

Note to Readers: Article below focuses on U.S. Federal Government hiring of people with disabilities. If you are a reader from outside the U.S. and have interesting information to share regarding your government’s hiring of people with disabilities, please feel free to contact me.

In January 2008, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a report on the federal employment of people with disabilities*. Overall, the EEOC concluded that the federal government employs fewer people with disabilities now than it has at any point during the last 20 years. The EEOC’s finding is troubling for the following reasons:

·  The federal government has a mandate to be a model employer in the hiring and advancing individuals with disabilities.
·  During the past 20 years, significant technological advancements afford people with disabilities a greater opportunity to work.
·  The Office of Disability Employment Policy, a division of the U.S. Labor Department, indicates that roughly half of individuals with disabilities in the United States are unemployed (note: the office cautions the statistic may vary based on definition of disability and data source).

The EEOC made several recommendations for improving efforts to hire and retain individuals with disabilities. These recommendations include:

·  Establishment of numerical goals for hiring individuals with disabilities on an annual basis.
·  Ensuring procedures that make agencies and officials accountable for reaching goals and verifying that goals are obtained.

The initial implication of the EEOC’s findings has been a surge in commitment among federal government leaders to re-focus efforts on hiring people with disabilities. While a commitment from leaders is a great start, a push from our community will help.

If you are seeking employment, consider reaching out to your local congressional representative about potential opportunities.
·   If you aren’t sure who your Senator is, click on the following link: http://www.senate.gov/. On the top right side of your browsers select your state.
·   If you aren’t sure who serves your district in the House of Representatives, click on the following link: http://www.house.gov/. On the top left side of your browser, type in your zip code and click “search”.

When contacting your local representative about potential employment opportunities, be sure to mention in the course of your conversation the EEOC’s report on federal hiring of people with disabilities. By networking with your representatives now, you may be able to reap the benefits of future efforts by the federal government to hire people with disabilities.

Feel free to contact me with your questions or thoughts…[email protected].

Rob

* The Federal Government defines people with disabilities per codes on the Office of Personnel Management’s Standard Form. The coded disabilities are as follows: deafness, blindness, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, convulsive disorders, mental retardation, mental illness, and distortion of limb and/or spine.
** Sources: http://www.dol.gov/odep/faqs/working.htm, http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/report/pwtd.html.

PepsiCo’s EnAble

"Buzzing in the Workplace" By Rob Roy

Several weeks back I wrote about different ways one can identify whether or not a firm is truly committed to hiring people with disabilities. One factor I mentioned was to consider whether or not a firm has an Employee Resource Group for people with disabilities, as the group tends to facilitate and improve employee engagement on disability issues.

If you watched the Super Bowl, you may have learned of one such employee group called EnAble. EnAble is a group within PepsiCo that supports diversity and the inclusion of persons with different abilities.

EnAble created a commercial for the Super Bowl that was performed entirely in sign language and contained subtitles. The spot was created by and features PepsiCo employees who are members of EnAble. The ad is an attempt to demonstrate PepsiCo’s commitment to diversity by airing the first ad using ASL and subtitles only on a national broadcasting network (there was no sound at all).   

According to PepsiCo, "this is one way we can give back through what we call Performance with Purpose. It's part of a larger effort to make PepsiCo the defining corporation of the 21st century. By bringing the world an ad performed by deaf employees in ASL, we feel like we've already scored the upset on Super Bowl Sunday."

While the ad may have produced mix feeling among members of our community, one fact remains true -- without a group like EnAble we may never have seen such an ad played during the Super Bowl. Additionally, EnAble opened the door for dialogue about the media’s level of engagement on disability issues, and raises awareness on the importance of corporate hiring practices to include hiring people with disabilities.

If you didn’t catch the ad, check it out below:

Two guys in a pickup truck (one’s drinking a Pepsi) are headed to a Super Bowl party hosted by their friend Bob, but they stop on the darkened upper-middle-class street after neither one remembers which house is his.

The two spend a bit of time arguing before the driver gets an idea and repeatedly honks the horn. House lights begin to pop on as they slowly work through the neighborhood, honking along the way.

They stop at the only house that remains dark and the driver declares, “That’s it!”

“Yeah, ya think?” the passenger replies sarcastically.

They walk up and ring Bob’s doorbell, prompting Bob’s foyer light to flash three times (it took me a few times before I caught that). Bob lets the pair in, and the passenger gives a quick “Sorry” to a puzzled neighbor before walking inside.

A True Commitment to Hiring people with Disabilities

"Buzzing in the Workplace"
By Rob Roy

Most companies in corporate America have statements regarding their equal employment policy. It often goes something like this:

“Our Equal Employment policy is to identify, attract, retain, and advance the most qualified persons, without regard to their race, religion, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, or veteran's status.”

While most companies have policies such as the one above, not all demonstrate a commitment to hiring people with disabilities. From my professional experience, I have yet to meet another individual in the consulting industry who has a visible disability (with the exception of people who wear glasses). This is within my firm and well as within several major Fortune 500 corporations (but bear in mind I haven’t met everyone in the firm).

Why is hiring and retaining people with disabilities so important for a company?

Diversity contributes to a company’s strength. The combination of unique skills, abilities, experiences and backgrounds creates an environment that produces extraordinary results. People with disabilities are an important component of fostering diversity and often bring an outside of the box thinking with them to their job since it is a way of thinking necessary for living with a disability every day.

How do I know if a company is committed to hiring people with disabilities?

When evaluating if a company is committed to hiring people with disabilities, consider the following:

·    Does the company partner with organizations focusing on disability? Relationships with organizations focusing on disability are a clear indication that a company is interested in recruiting people with disabilities. Partnerships serve as an avenue for a corporation to recruit talent within a pool of people with disabilities.

·    Does the company offer disability training and resources? Sensitizing employees to the capabilities of people with disabilities and the issues they face is critical. A company that offers employees diversity training on how to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities typically indicates a company’s commitment to ensure employment for people with disabilities is successful.

·    Does the firm have an Employee Resources Group or Task-Force geared specifically for people with disabilities?  An Employee Resource Groups and/or a Task-Force facilitate and improve employee engagement on disability issues. Employee groups for employees with disabilities can help a company provide amenities to make people with disabilities feel welcome. These groups exist to help employees maximize opportunities to network and develop their careers, and to strengthen the company’s recruitment, retention, leadership development, and outreach for people with disabilities.

If you are a person with a disability, consider evaluating companies based on the above when exploring employment opportunities. If you are a supporter of people with disabilities and are currently employed, consider evaluating whether or not your firm does any of the above.  If your firm doesn’t, consider challenging your firm to demonstrate its true commitment to hiring people with disabilities.

Feel free to email me with your thoughts or questions … [email protected].

Disclosing a Disability to Your Employer

"Buzzing in the Workplace" By Rob Roy

Recently, my friend asked me if I discussed my hearing impairment with my employer when I was first hired and if I need any accommodations at work. His questions were interesting because I have a visible disability and therefore I don’t have the option to disclose my hearing impairment.  If you see my hearing aids, you know I’m hearing impaired.

However, I do have the option not to discuss my hearing impairment. I did choose not to talk about my disability during the interview process.  I’m not sure whether or not being disabled had any bearing when my application was evaluated, but I wanted to be hired based on my qualifications. For me, not discussing my disability allowed me to speak of my merits, and helps me believe I was not hired out of empathy.

Only one can decide whether and how much information to share regarding his or her disability.  For residents of the United States, the following facts are good to know:

• Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a person with a disability can choose to disclose his or her disability at any time.  Disclosure can take place during the interview process, upon a job offer, or anytime after beginning a job.

• Although one is not required to disclose his or her disability under the law, one should disclose his or her disability in order to request reasonable accommodations or to receive protection under the law. Telling an employer about a disability is a safe way to gain proper protection under the law. 

• It is likely that one will have difficulty being protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act if one discloses a disability right before being fired. Employers are most likely to be responsive to a disclosure done in good faith rather than done as a last-ditch effort to keep a job.

• No one can force an individual to disclose or discuss a disability if he or she doesn’t want to. If an employer brings up the topic and one does not want to talk about his or her disability – he or she does not have to.

I knew as long as I had a phone in which I could increase the volume, I would most likely not need to request any accommodations. The first thing I checked when I moved into my cube was my phone. The receiver had volume amplification control.  As a result, I’ve refrained from discussing my disability with my manager. He has never brought the topic up with me. So far, my performance at my company has been solid and I’ve not had any issues interacting with clients on the phone.

What do you think? 

• Should I have a conversation with my manager regarding my disability despite not having any issues on the job and not foreseeing any potential issues in the future?

• Have you disclosed your disability with your employer, and if so, how’d you go about doing it?

Feel free to respond via posting a comment or email me at [email protected].

Thank you, Rob Roy

for this endorsement of [with]tv!

Meet Columnist Rob Roy

Rob Roy is an Analyst for the Nielsen Company, a leading provider of marketing information and business media services, where he advises clients on new product innovation and execution strategies.  A native of Chicago, Rob received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

When not working, Rob likes to ride his bike, hang out at the beach with his dog, and spend time wondering what is Buzzing in the Workplace.

You can also visit Rob on his new blog: The Journey