See my abilities: An employment strategy for people with disability

See my abilities: An employment strategy for people with disability2

Mal Wauchope Public Sector Commissioner

Rebecca Harris Director of Equal

Opportunity in Public Employment

Ron Chalmers Disability Services

Commissioner

People with disability are valuable and dynamic members of our community, but are under-represented in the workforce. With almost one in five Australians identifying as having a disability—and this is increasing as the population ages—it is likely we will all know someone with a disability at some stage in our lives. It also means people with disability will be clients, customers or stakeholders of most public authorities.

Disability can be a sensitive topic for many people. Disability may take many forms, including some we may not be able to see. Misperceptions about people with disability are common and may shape the way we act and engage with people with disability, in an employment context or otherwise.

It is no longer appropriate or acceptable to put employing people with disability in the ‘too-hard-basket’. It is clear we have work to do to stimulate the demand for employees with a disability and provide meaningful employment. Awareness of the barriers to employment and strategic responses to address them is required to increase representation and build inclusive workplaces.

Australian research shows some employers hold a false belief that people with disability are unable to achieve similar levels of productivity as people without a disability. This stereotyping and our unconscious biases towards people with disability can prevent us from seeing the abilities and skills they may bring to our workplaces.

We are committed to working with, assisting and supporting all Western Australian public authorities to improve public employment outcomes for people with disability. Employing people with disability produces a positive dividend for the organisation, including broadening problem solving, decision making, customer service and innovation dimensions, and contributes to greater social and economic security for people with disability in our community. Leaders must take action now to diversify their workforce.

Foreword

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The strategy

See my abilities: An employment strategy for people with disability provides a cohesive set of actions that will help public authorities realise good practices around attracting, recruiting, retaining and developing people with disability.

The three priority areas for public authorities are to promote awareness, prepare your organisation and provide opportunities. While we have provided broad, practical actions to consider, what shape these actions take and how you go about achieving these aims will vary between organisations. This is an important document for you when developing, reviewing and implementing workforce plans, diversity and employment strategies.

Our shared commitment

Simply putting in place a strategy or policy in your organisation will not be sufficient on its own. Achieving greater representation of people with disability in public employment will take sustained effort across your organisation.

• Workforce and diversity data should appear by default on the Corporate Executive agenda, with the strategic workforce agenda being driven by the Chief Human Resource Officer and executive team.

• The HR team must ensure people management processes and practices are non-discriminatory and provide maximum opportunity for people from all diversity groups to be employed.

• Those responsible for making employment recommendations must be made aware of how their unconscious biases may affect recruitment decisions.

• All public officers should celebrate the value that people with different backgrounds and life experiences bring to the productivity of, and engagement with, the workplace.

To that end, we will work collaboratively to influence, advocate and bring prominence to disability employment, and diversity more broadly through our interactions with public authorities, disability service providers, the not-for-profit sector, community organisations and prospective employees.

We commend this strategy to you as you engage with the process of diversifying your workforce.

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Our collective goals

Increasing the number of people with disability employed and retained in public employment can be achieved by implementing initiatives outlined under the three priority areas below. All public authorities should contribute to our collective goals through taking tangible actions that can be measured.

Promote awareness

Prepare your organisation

Provide opportunities

1 2Priority areas

3

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Promote awareness

Promoting awareness of the positive contributions people with disability make in public employment, and to our society more broadly, helps to demystify misperceptions around people with disability. Public authorities that proactively and openly promote inclusive workplaces, and celebrate the achievements of people with disability will be leading the way in contributing to better economic and social outcomes for this diverse group.

Objective

Recognise and promote the diversity and abilities of employees, and potential employees, with disability through inclusive organisational cultures.

Actions • Promote your organisation as respectful,

equitable and diverse.

• Access disability advice services.

• Identify leaders, champions and mentors as visible advocates for change.

• Embed diversity and inclusion content in educational and awareness-raising initiatives for all employees, in particular those in leadership, people management and recruitment.

• Raise awareness of the diverse abilities of people with disability and how they can contribute to the organisation.

• Support and promote reasonable adjustments for candidates and employees with disability.

• Showcase and promote good employment practice and the successes of people with disability from within your organisation and across the sectors.

Impact • Build awareness, organisational confidence

and capability in the management of employing people with disability.

• Address misinformation about people with disability and build relationships with, and awareness of, disability employment service providers.

• Promote, support and extend the professional profile of employees with disability.

• Build justified belief in the capability and effectiveness of employees with disability.

• Build awareness that disability takes many different forms and provides your business with many opportunities.

• Ensure employees with disability have equal opportunity and perform at their best.

• Facilitate sharing your organisation's successes in the employment of people with disability.

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Prepare your organisation

Preparing your organisation to accept and accommodate employees with a disability is an important part of inclusion. Public authorities must ensure diversity and inclusion is strategically linked to business planning processes and organisational values, and demonstrate this commitment through its actions.

Objective Develop values statements, policies, strategies and business plans that reflect the importance of diversity and inclusion, and contribute to improved employment outcomes for people with disability.

Actions • Undertake a disability access and inclusion review of

employment practices and job design.

• Work with those responsible for making employment recommendations to clarify the benefits of appointing people with disability, and how unconscious bias may be affecting their recruitment decisions.

• Partner with disability employment services to develop disability employment objectives and plans.

• Review business and diversity plans to ensure (i) inclusive and accessible recruitment and retention processes (ii) employee capabilities in attraction, management and retention of people with disability.

• Measure rates of attraction, application, appointment, retention and promotion for people with disability and evaluate if and how improvements can be made.

• Implement and monitor effective anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies and procedures.

• Ensure codes of conduct clearly articulate that inappropriate, discriminatory or disrespectful personal behaviour will not be tolerated.

• Evaluate and, if required, adjust working environments.

• Practice sound diversity data collection methods and produce accurate and comprehensive employment information.

• Monitor, evaluate and report workforce and diversity data regularly at the Corporate Executive level as standard practice.

Impact • Remove or reduce bias and

barriers to employment for people with disability.

• Ensure those responsible for making employment recommendations are disability aware and confident.

• Successfully target the right people for the right jobs.

• Ensure the best outcomes for employees with disability and the achievement of workforce diversity in your organisation.

• Continually improve outcomes in disability employment.

• Ensure the needs of people with disability are respected and supported.

• Improve job satisfaction for employees with disability.

• Ensure that self-identifying as a person with a disability is easy, respectful and affirming.

• Ensure ongoing attention and commitment for strategies at the highest level of the organisation.

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Providing employment and development opportunities is crucial in creating meaningful work and future career pathways for people with disability. Public authorities committed to providing development opportunities that best meet the needs of employees with disability assist with making public employment a more attractive proposition to all people with disability.

Provide opportunities

Objective

Support the development of employees with disability in a way that leads to ongoing employment, enhanced performance, professional development and career progression.

Actions

• Remove any barriers identified for people

with disability in regards to employment,

development and career progression.

• Introduce good practice flexibilities and

innovation in the employment of people

with disability.

• Investigate employing a candidate with a

disability through a trainee or cadetship

program.

• Capture and manage aspirations and

development opportunities through the

professional development cycle.

• Invest in experiences, education and

training for employees with disability.

Impact

• Ensure the sector is more attractive to

candidates with disability.

• Increase the number of people with

disability who come to work for the sector.

• Achieve equal opportunity and

employment flexibility.

• Provide more options for employing people

with disability and develop them within the

context of your required business needs.

• Provide career pathways for employees

with disability.

• Target your organisation's skill

requirements and expand your talent pool.

• Provide development that best meets the

needs of employees with disability and

your business objectives.

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Our commitment

We are committed to working with, supporting and assisting public authorities, and relevant organisations, to facilitate improved employment outcomes for people with disability in public employment. In particular we will:

Work collaboratively to bring prominence to disability employment in our interactions with public authorities, disability service providers, the not-for-profit sector, community organisations and prospective employees.

Improve networking opportunities and information sharing across the sector for employees with disability.

Coordinate avenues to share lessons learned and success stories.

Monitor whole-of-sector progress against this strategy.

Raise awareness about the role that unconscious bias plays in public employment and ways to reduce it.

Provide entry-level employment opportunities by providing centrally funded public sector traineeships to people with disability.

NOW HIRING

Provide advice and support to public authorities to review data collection methods that improve response rates and data quality.

Monitor progress of the strategy through the Public Sector Commission's Advisory Board.

Provide advice and practical tools for building capabilities in disability employment.

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• Meeting or exceeding the goal of 2.3% of people with disability represented in public employment.

• Increasing the representation of people with disability at all levels within public authorities, relative to those published in the State of the sector report.

• Improving representation of people with disability employed at all levels across regional WA, relative to those published in the State of the sector report.

• Leading and championing the employment of people with disability through the Public Sector Commission's Advisory Board.

Measures of success

The primary outcome of the strategy is to increase the representation of people with disability in public employment over time.

Achievement of outcomes will be reported by the Commission and evaluated by the Director of Equal Opportunity in Public Employment through equal employment opportunity management or integrated workforce and diversity plans. In particular the following will be reported:

• workforce participation rates and characteristics at an agency level

• activities undertaken to ensure employment of people with disability.

Public authorities are encouraged to establish internal monitoring and reporting arrangements to ensure attention to the strategies and performance objectives adopted under this strategy.

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Acknowledgement

The Public Sector Commission acknowledges Ms Jane Ryan, whose work has been reproduced in this document and has inspired the visual message of the Commission’s See my abilities: An employment strategy for people with disability.

Ms Ryan is gifted with an innate sense of colour, shape and form, and is an exciting and emerging West Australian artist whose practice includes painting, sculpture, printmaking, weaving and coiling.

Ms Ryan is in charge of her artistic direction with the assistance of committed mentors and is establishing a personal pathway with her creative expression.

Jane Ryan Artist

Sunset

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Enquiries:

Public Sector Commission Dumas House, 2 Havelock Street, West Perth 6005Locked Bag 3002, West Perth WA 6872Telephone: (08) 6552 8500 Fax: (08) 6552 8501 Email: admin@psc.wa.gov.auWebsite: www.publicsector.wa.gov.au

© State of Western Australia 2016There is no objection to this publication being copied in whole or part, provided there is due acknowledgement of any material quoted or reproduced.

Published by the Public Sector Commission, June 2016.

This publication is available on the Public Sector Commission website at www.publicsector.wa.gov.au

DisclaimerThe Western Australian Government is committed to quality service to its customers and makes every attempt to ensure accuracy, currency and reliability of the information contained in this publication. However, changes in circumstances over time may impact on the veracity of this information.

AccessibilityCopies of this publication are available in alternative formats upon request.