Boosting the Bottom Line: Six Benefits of Disability Inclusion

The CDC defines disability inclusion as “understanding the relationship between the way people function and how they participate in society and making sure everybody has the same opportunities to participate in every aspect of life to the best of their abilities and desires.”

And in today’s highly competitive job market, disability inclusion is a no-brainer.

According to the Department of Labor, there are approximately 33 million people of working age (between 16 and 64) with disabilities in the U.S. Of those, 18.5 million are employed. That means there’s a talent pool of 14.6 million workers waiting to be tapped.

Accenture teamed with Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) to survey companies in the U.S. market. Among their findings was that companies didn’t actively recruit people with disabilities for three main reasons. The first was a lack of understanding of how much talent was available. The second was not fully comprehending the potential benefits. The third was erroneous perceptions of the cost vs. ROI on employing people with disabilities.

In reality, people with disabilities have skills and experience that can provide employers with a competitive edge. In addition, Achieve Services reports that people with disabilities are extremely reliable workers with exceptional records of attendance, job performance and retention. Further, according to the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, most accommodations needed to facilitate new hires with disabilities cost nothing. The rest cost an average of $500.

According to the Accenture report, there are six key areas of “inclusion incentives.” Click through the gallery above to learn more about them.