Employer Best Practices – Interviewing and accommodating an individual with hearing loss

Posted on May 8, 2012 by ViableSarah

This blog is part of Viable Calgary’s blog series on Employer Best Practices. To read more posts about Employer Best Practices, please click here.

These Best Practices showcase effective ways that employers can make their workplaces more inclusive as well as attract and retain staff from a more diverse talent pool.

Interviewing and accommodating an individual with hearing loss:
- Offer meeting minutes and notes in a written format ahead of time.
- Face them when speaking and have meetings in a U-shape to facilitate lip reading.
- Have carpet in meeting rooms as other materials can cause an echo.
- Seek the services of Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART) when your employees attend conferences or large meetings.
- Establish a “hearing buddy”, this is an employee who can hear and is able to ensure your employee is aware of any emergency situations.

Check back often for more information from Viable Calgary. Also please feel free to contact us at administration@viablecalgary.ca with any comments or questions.

Employer Best Practices – Legal Practices and Human Resource Policies

Posted on May 1, 2012 by ViableSarah

This blog is part of Viable Calgary’s blog series on Employer Best Practices. To read more posts about Employer Best Practices, please click here.

These Best Practices showcase effective ways that employers can make their workplaces more inclusive as well as attract and retain staff from a more diverse talent pool.

Ask questions during the interview such as: “How do you see yourself performing the duties of this job?” “Is there any reason that you can foresee why you would not be able to perform the duties of this job?” These types of questions steer away from disability-related questions and focus on what is important
Many local Service Providers provide workshops and resources on legal issues around employing persons with disabilities and what questions you can and cannot ask.
Be Proactive rather than Reactive: Have systems in place such as “Where to go for help?”
Develop an effective way to disseminate information throughout the organization, all the way from managers to front-line staff.

Check back often for more information from Viable Calgary. Also please feel free to contact us at administration@viablecalgary.ca with any comments or questions.

Employer Best Practices – Accommodation

Posted on April 24, 2012 by ViableSarah

This blog is part of Viable Calgary’s blog series on Employer Best Practices. To read more posts about Employer Best Practices, please click here.

These Best Practices showcase effective ways that employers can make their workplaces more inclusive as well as attract and retain staff from a more diverse talent pool.

Ask rather than assume: When inviting a candidate to your place of business, ask them whether they require any accommodation and give some examples such as, accessible parking, elevator access, etc. This can go a long way in making the candidate feel comfortable and opening the channels of communication. Remember that every situation should be treated on a case-by-case basis and every individual is unique.

Job Coaching is a great tool that can help new employees who have disabilities succeed in their jobs. This service is provided by Service Providers who place candidates.

Accommodations can be inexpensive and simple to implement such as a magnifying glass.

Check back often for more information from Viable Calgary. Also please feel free to contact us at administration@viablecalgary.ca with any comments or questions.

Employer Best Practices – Mental Health

Posted on April 10, 2012 by ViableSarah

This blog is part of Viable Calgary’s blog series on Employer Best Practices. To read more posts about Employer Best Practices, please click here.

These Best Practices showcase effective ways that employers can make their workplaces more inclusive as well as attract and retain staff from a more diverse talent pool.

Employers should not be isolating individuals with mental health issues but rather fostering a culture of social support in their workplaces.
The importance of harnessing the people already in each employer’s workforce that understand the corporate culture, rather than bringing in external contractors with academic/clinical information.
Promoting the appropriate mental health terminology in the workplace to avoid further stigmatization.
Workplaces should manage and monitor the four components of Stress Injury (trauma, fatigue, grief, and moral injury) in their workforce.
Leadership and social support should be built into the workplace because what you do as a manager has everything to do with your employees’ ability to get back into the Healthy zone.
The best way to deal with an unfamiliar or uncomfortable situation is to ask your employees.

Check back often for more information from Viable Calgary. Also please feel free to contact us at administration@viablecalgary.ca with any comments or questions.

Employer Best Practices – Workplace Morale and Success

Posted on April 3, 2012 by ViableSarah

This blog is part of Viable Calgary’s blog series on Employer Best Practices. To read more posts about Employer Best Practices, please click here.

These Best Practices showcase effective ways that employers can make their workplaces more inclusive as well as attract and retain staff from a more diverse talent pool.

Invest training dollars and time into driven and motivated employees; it may just affect long term innovations and productivity.
Work ethic is contagious. It is really important to focus on the positive.
It is good to show real life examples to people and to focus on Success Stories within the organization.
Don’t look at hand skills first. Personality trait is your number one thing. Many employers say that they would take a person with enthusiasm and desire and excitement tenfold over someone who is better at using a wrench.
Accommodating is about restructuring jobs to meet the needs of the organization and capitalizing on the strengths of workers.

Check back often for more information from Viable Calgary. Also please feel free to contact us at administration@viablecalgary.ca with any comments or questions.

Disability etiquette- Mental Health in the workplace

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Viablematt

People with a Mental Health Disabilities may at times have difficulty coping with the tasks and interactions of daily life. Their diagnoses may interfere with their ability to feel, think or relate to others. Most people with mental health disabilities are not violent. One of the main obstacles persons with a mental health diagnoses face is the attitudes or opinions that people have about them. Mental health disabilities are invisible disabilities; chances are you will not even realize that the person has a mental health condition. Day to day stress can affect the person’s ability to function and may need to be accommodated in the workplace.

Persons with Mental Health Disabilities have varying personalities and different ways of coping with their disability. Some may have trouble picking up on social cues; others may be super-sensitive. One person may be very high energy, while someone else may appear sluggish. Treat each person as an individual, put their ability first. Ask what will make him most comfortable and respect his or hers needs to the maximum extent possible.

Employer Best Practices – Managing Diversity

Posted on March 27, 2012 by ViableSarah

This blog is part of Viable Calgary’s blog series on Employer Best Practices. To read more posts about Employer Best Practices, please click here.

These Best Practices showcase effective ways that employers can make their workplaces more inclusive as well as attract and retain staff from a more diverse talent pool.

Implement employee engagement survey’s to gain insight and feedback from employees on the everyday operations of the organization and to determine employees’ perceptions about persons with disabilities.
Deliver staff diversity training programs to ensure workplace inclusiveness.
Have an open door policy communicated to employees to help in the disclosure of disabilities.
Be more open and communicate with employees and management that disclosing is encourages, with actual examples of accommodations from inside the organization.
Access Viable Calgary’s resources to better externally connect with various staffing service providers and career agencies.

Check back often for more information from Viable Calgary. Also please feel free to contact us at administration@viablecalgary.ca with any comments or questions.

Employer Best Practices Part 7

Posted on March 20, 2012 by ViableSarah

This blog is part of Viable Calgary’s blog series on Employer Best Practices. To read more posts about Employer Best Practices, please click here.

These Best Practices showcase effective ways that employers can make their workplaces more inclusive as well as attract and retain staff from a more diverse talent pool.

Today’s Best Practices:

Keeping conversation and communication lines open is key in allowing your employees to feel comfortable telling you what they need.
Be upfront and frank from the outset, so as not to disappoint, mislead or waste time. Don’t be afraid to ask what your employee needs in terms of accommodation. It is better to ask them than to assume – treat each employee on a case-by-case basis as every person’s needs are different.
Let employees know that you are open to suggestions for accommodations.
Employees with disabilities tend to develop their own techniques to be efficient at their job duties like creating e-mail, spreadsheet and word processing templates. Look to these techniques to improve your processes not only for your employees with disabilities but for your general staff. This increases productivity and efficiency for everybody involved.
Seek assistance from specialists on disability in order to educate your supervisors and staff on the disability of your employee. These specialists can educate you on the ways your new employee learns, communicates and works.

Check back often for more information from Viable Calgary. Also please feel free to contact us at administration@viablecalgary.ca with any comments or questions.

Employer Best Practices Part 6

Posted on March 13, 2012 by ViableSarah

This blog is part of Viable Calgary’s blog series on Employer Best Practices. To read more posts about Employer Best Practices, please click here.

These Best Practices showcase effective ways that employers can make their workplaces more inclusive as well as attract and retain staff from a more diverse talent pool.

Today’s Best Practices:

Be creative and use Social Media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) as a new strategy for recruiting new employees.
Partner with postsecondary institutions and high schools to capture newly educated talent, especially in the case of future labour shortages.
Train everyone in the organization to accept what someone “can do” instead of focusing on what they “can’t do”.
Make sure diversity training is mandatory for everyone in the organization, including top management.
Take advantage of community resources such as The Copernicus Project by The Canadian Mental Health Association and the Mobile Response Team by Alberta Health Services.

Check back often for more information from Viable Calgary. Also please feel free to contact us at administration@viablecalgary.ca with any comments or questions.

Disability Etiquette Mondays-Terminology

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Viablematt

When addressing or speaking about someone with a disability, ensure you put the person before their disability. For example saying “person with a disability” rather than a “disabled person” will go a long way with how you are viewed and help you avoid causing unintentional barriers in with workplace.

Avoid using offensive and outdated terms like “crippled”, “retard”, or “differently abled.” Although using words like “wheelchair bound” may be socially acceptable, a person with a wheelchair is not confined to it. People who use mobility devices use them to get around and participate in society; it is not confining or forced.

Those of us who use vehicles to get to and from destinations are not confined to our mode of transportation. We are not vehicle-bound nor are we confined to our vehicle. The same principle applies to persons with disabilities.

Put the person before the disability.

For more post regarding disability etiquette click here