Benefit Your Business through Disability Employment

Enhance Your Talent Pool

Approximately 22 million working-age Americans have a disability. Recruiting, hiring, retaining, and advancing people with disabilities expands your business’s access to highly qualified talent.

• Build partnerships: Seek partnerships to help expand your recruiting sources and build a talent pipeline.
• Find candidates with disabilities: Explore resources your organization can use to connect with candidates with disabilities.
• Develop a small business strategy: Discover approaches to help your small business attract and recruit job seekers with disabilities.

Expand Your Customer Base

People with disabilities represent $650 billion in spending power (PDF).^[1] Employing workers with disabilities helps you gain insight into this large population.

• Improve customer engagement: Gain firsthand insight into customer preferences and accessibility needs, since many consumers have a disability or close ties to someone who does.
• Enhance brand reputation (PDF): A national survey reveals that 92% of consumers feel more favorably toward companies that hire people with disabilities, and 87% prefer to patronize such companies.
• Learn to work together: Learn how to communicate and interact respectfully with people with disabilities.

Improve Productivity and Performance

A recent survey reported 97% of human resource professionals said that employees with disabilities regularly perform equally or better than their peers without disabilities.

• Manage performance: Find out how feedback helps all employees, including those with disabilities, advance in their careers.
• Retain valued employees with disabilities: Learn about the importance of performance coaching and management for employees with disabilities.
• Train, manage, and mentor: Train managers and peers to improve the workplace experiences of neurodivergent employees.

Make Use of Financial Incentives

Companies that employ people with disabilities may be eligible for federal, state, and local support.

• Use tax incentives and credits: Companies that hire and retain disabled workers are eligible for financial incentives.
• Tap into talent: Implement concrete strategies for developing and building relationships with state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies. State VR agencies may offer wage reimbursement to businesses that participate in on-the-job training programs, and employers who hire candidates referred by VR may also qualify for the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC).
• Access funding for apprenticeships and internships: Programs like those under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act can provide funding for work-based learning, such as apprenticeships and internships, for people with disabilities.

Increase Job Satisfaction and Employee Retention

Organizations that accommodate employees, with and without disabilities, have overall increased employee morale, job satisfaction, and commitment.

• Prioritize accommodation and accessibility: Take advantage of valuable resources on accommodations and accessibility.
• Implement low-cost, high-impact accommodations: Cost-effective job accommodations benefit employees and employers alike.
• Implement regular performance coaching: Performance coaching and continuous feedback lead to better employee engagement, retention, and advancement outcomes for employees with disabilities.