Making Work Accessible: Recruitment

Welcome to this series of posts on Making Work Accessible! I’m so excited to share this deeper dive into accessibility at work, based on some content from a recent webinar and presentation. We’re going to explore the phases of the employee life cycle: Attraction, Recruitment, Onboarding, Development, and Retention. I’ll share some accessibility and inclusion best practices in each of these areas, and also include a related benefit of disability inclusion.

In HR, “recruitment” refers to the process of screening resumes, interviewing, and hiring within an organization. What does that look like for people with disabilities?

Recruiting and Interviewing Employees with Disabilities

Recruitment Best Practices

• Give candidates the option to select the interview format (in person, phone, video, etc.)
• Provide accommodations for interviews (captions, sign language, etc.)
• Provide interview questions or topics in advance
• Explain the interview format and any technical requirements in advance
• Share names and roles of all interviewers
• Diversify the interviewing team
• Train recruiters/interviewers in bias, ableism
• Allow for appropriate breaks in the interview process

Recruitment Business Benefit

Innovation and Problem-Solving: Diverse perspectives lead to fresh ideas. People with disabilities bring unique experiences and approaches to the table, fostering creativity and innovation in tackling problems.

How Do I Do This?

I’d love for you to get in touch to chat about how I may be able to help you implement these best practices!

Sources and Further Reading

• Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability: Ensuring Accessibility in the Recruitment Process
• Disability:IN ERG/BRG Toolkit: Workforce: Talent/Employees
• The Ability Center: Interviewing People With Disabilities [PDF]
• US Department of Labor: Focus on Ability: Interviewing Applicants with Disabilities