Discover Ability Op-Ed 2: Benefits of Hiring PWD

· by c.dambrosio@hamiltonchamber.ca

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a stand-still. In Ontario, this resulted in numerous lock downs and restrictive measures that heavily impacted businesses. The pandemic’s lasting effect is still being felt by businesses, especially when it comes to recruiting and retaining employees. The OCC (Ontario Chambers of Commerce) and the Discover Ability Network believe that one answer to this widespread issue is through utilizing an untapped talent pool of people who self-identify with a disability (PwD).

There are many benefits in hiring people with disabilities. A major issue coming out of the pandemic is employee retention. One prominent advantage of hiring persons with disabilities is that they have a higher-than-average retention rate and company loyalty (Turning diversity into $, 2014). Higher retention means that recruitment costs become lower. People with disabilities also add to the productivity of a company with 90% of employees with disabilities rating average or better on performance (Graffam, Shinkfield, Smith and Polzin, 2002). Absenteeism has also become a major issue for businesses across Ontario. Employees with disabilities rate average or better on attendance (Graffam, Shinkfield, Smith and Polzin, 2002). But most importantly, as many companies have yet to access this talent pool, there are hundreds of qualified candidates looking to begin work and advance their careers, making recruitment faster.

To ease the difficulty of recruitment, the Discover Ability Network provides free training, networking, and a free job matching platform to help business connect to these qualified applicants faster. To learn more about the Discover Ability Network and how hiring people with disabilities can benefit your business, visit

https://discoverability.network/.

Please contact Boyan Mitrovic, Programs Manager at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce at boyanmitrovic@occ.ca for any questions you might have on posting jobs (free of charge) or available training on hiring and retaining employees who self-identify with a disability.