Chances are, in your workplace today, there
are empty seats you wish were filled with qualified and motivated employees.
You are not alone.
Today in America there are more than seven million
unfilled jobs. And there are also more than ten million Americans with
disabilities who are ready, willing, and able to fill those jobs. It is not
only the right time to tap into this talent pool, it is also a golden
opportunity. Businesses that employ and support workers with disabilities
average 28 percent higher revenue and 30 percent higher profit margins
than peer businesses that do not.
There may be a logical reason for these
results. People with disabilities, perhaps more than anyone, understand how to
meet challenges head-on and solve pretty tough problems. It’s even been
suggested that the ROI on disability hiring will be similar to what businesses
experienced with past inclusion efforts, such as those that brought women into
the front offices and boardrooms.
So, how can we create hiring models that match
American businesses to qualified workers with disabilities? I believe the
answer lies inside our nation’s vibrant and innovative businesses and that this
is the year we can build momentum. So, we are putting out a challenge to all
American businesses – from Main Street to Wall Street – to not just join us,
but to compete and win a national prize.
Here’s how it works. The Administration for
Community Living (ACL) has put up $380,000 in prize money for winning ideas
from American businesses. The ideas take the form of proposals that explain how
the business will establish a talent pipeline for workers with disabilities. We
call this effort the Inclusive Talent Pipeline for American Businesses challenge.
Details can be found at acl.gov/challenge.
We want to see – and recognize – true and
disruptive innovation in talent pipelines across America. Businesses will benefit through better
performance and people with disabilities will discover access to meaningful,
engaging careers. Together, we will benefit from a stronger national engine: a
more diverse workforce.
Submitting a proposal is easy. We are
confident that every successful business has the creativity to outline a plan
to effectively establish a talent pipeline for workers with disabilities. A key
judging criteria for this challenge will be the extent to which each proposal
is inclusive of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
We’ll award cash prizes to up to five winning
proposals, and a grand prize of $100,000. All participating businesses will
receive feedback on their proposals and permission to use the “Administration
for Community Living Inclusive Talent Pipeline Partner” logo.
There is a population ready, willing, and able
to fill the millions of jobs that are available today. I hope you will use this
opportunity to open your doors wider to Americans with disabilities by visiting
the challenge website. If you have questions, we’ll respond promptly. We want
to motivate you to improve your talent pipeline and are happy to reward those
efforts.
Julie Hocker is Commissioner of the Administration on
Disabilities, Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services. Ms. Hocker previously served as a senior manager at the
Charles Koch Foundation where she led several key initiatives to improve the
foundation’s operations, including development of an integrated technology and
data solution for fundraising, grantmaking and expenditures; redesigning
process to improve investment tracking and enable better analysis of
effectiveness; and creation and implementation of risk-management processes.
She has also served in a variety of roles with The Vanguard Group, the HHS
Administration for Children and Families, and the Center for Human Dignity at
the American Conservative Union Foundation. Ms. Hocker earned an undergraduate
degree in economics and political science from St. Mary's College of Maryland
and Master of Business Administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
No comments:
Post a Comment