SHRM Survey Reveals Top HR Practices for Hiring People With Disabilities

SHRM Survey Findings: Employing People With
Disabilities: Practices and Policies Related to
Recruiting and Hiring Employees With Disabilities
In collaboration with and commissioned by Cornell University ILR
School Employment and Disability Institute.

April 6, 2012

SHRM Survey Findings: Employing People With Disabilities: Practices and Policies Related to Recruiting and Hiring Employees With Disabilities .
In collaboration with and commissioned by Cornell University ILR School Employment and Disability Institute.

Introduction

SHRM, in collaboration with and commissioned by the Cornell University ILR School Employment and Disability
Institute, conducted a survey of its members about organizational practices and policies related to employing
people with disabilities. Areas of focused in this survey research included:

 Part 1: Recruitment and Hiring

 Part 2: Accessibility and Accommodation

 Part 3: Retention and Advancement

In addition, the survey explored metrics that organizations track for all employees and for employees with
disabilities, as well as potential barriers in the employment of and advancement of people with disabilities.

The data findings included in this document focus on Part 1 of the research: Practices and Policies Related to
Recruiting and Hiring Employees With Disabilities.

2

Part 1:
Policies and Practices Related
to Recruitment and Hiring

3

Study Purpose, Partners and Funding

 Study purpose: to provide new knowledge about differences in HR practices in hiring,
retaining and advancing individuals with disabilities and the relationship between
these practices and positive employment outcomes.

 Partners: SHRM, in collaboration with Cornell University.

 Funding: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research grant to Cornell University, Rehabilitation Research and
Training Center on Employer Practices (Grant No. H133B040013).

4

Definitions

For this survey, we define a “person with a disability” as someone who has a
physical and/or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. This
could include (but is not limited to) individuals with a physical disability, a chronic
health condition, a vision or hearing impairment, a mental health condition, or a
workplace injury or illness.

We define an “effective practice or policy” as one that leads to improved
recruitment, hiring, retention, engagement, workplace climate and/or advancement
of people with disabilities.

5

Key Findings
 What policies and practices related to the recruitment and hiring of people with disabilities are
currently being implemented by organizations? Nearly two-thirds (61%) of organizations indicate
including people with disabilities explicitly in their diversity and inclusion plans, 59% require
subcontractors/suppliers to adhere to disability nondiscrimination requirements, 58% train HR staff
and supervisors on effectively interviewing people with disabilities, and 57% have developed
relationships with community organizations that promote the employment of people with
disabilities.

 Among organizations that have implemented policies and practices related to the recruitment
and hiring of people with disabilities, which policies and practices were found to be very
effective? Nearly one-half (45%) of organizations found that training HR staff and supervisors on
interviewing people with disabilities was very effective. Several organizations also believe that
requiring subcontractors/suppliers to adhere to disability nondiscrimination requirements (38%)
and having explicit organizational goals related to the recruitment or hiring of people with
disabilities (34%) were very effective practices.

6

Key Findings (Continued)

 Are some organizations more likely to have policies and practices related to the recruitment
and hiring of people with disabilities depending on the organization’s staff size or sector?
Larger organizations are more likely to have polices and practices related to recruitment and
hiring of people with disabilities compared with smaller organizations. Publicly owned for-profit
organizations also are more likely to have some of these policies and practices in place
compared with privately owned for-profit organizations and nonprofit organizations.

7

Policies and Practices Related to Recruitment
and Hiring
Our organization…
Includes people with disabilities explicitly in its diversity and
inclusion plan. 61% 39%
(n = 567 )

Requires subcontractors/suppliers to adhere to disability
nondiscrimination requirements.
59% 41%
(n = 525)

Trains HR staff and supervisors on effective interviewing of people
with disabilities. 58% 42%
(n = 580)

Has relationships with community organizations that promote the 57% 43%
employment of people with disabilities.
(n = 568)

Actively recruits people with disabilities. 47% 53%
(n = 574)

Yes No
Note: Respondents who answered “don’t know” and “in development/under review" were excluded from this analysis.

8

Policies and Practices Related to Recruitment
and Hiring (Continued)
Our organization…
Has senior management that demonstrates a strong commitment to
disability recruitment and hiring. 40% 60%
(n =555)

Takes advantage of tax incentives for hiring people with disabilities
(e.g., Small Business Tax Credit, Architectural/ Transportation Tax 27% 73%
Deduction or Work Opportunities Tax Credit).
(n = 467)
Has explicit organizational goals related to the recruitment or hiring
of people with disabilities. 27% 73%
(n = 540)

Participates in internships or similar programs that target people with 20% 80%
disabilities.
(n =525)

Includes progress toward recruitment or hiring goals for people with
disabilities in the performance appraisals of senior management. 18% 82%
(n = 547)
Yes No

9

Level of Implementation and Effectiveness

Effectiveness of Policies
Very Somewhat Not Effectiveness
Our organization… effective effective effective not known
Trains HR staff and supervisors on effective
interviewing of people with disabilities. 45% 37% 17% 1%
(n = 334)
Requires subcontractors/suppliers to adhere to
disability nondiscrimination requirements. 38% 30% 3% 29%
(n = 310)
Has explicit organizational goals related to the
recruitment or hiring of people with disabilities. 34% 31% 9% 25%
(n = 149)
Participates in internships or similar programs that
target people with disabilities. 33% 37% 5% 25%
(n = 111)

Note: Respondents who answered that a specific policy or practice related to recruitment and hiring was “not in place” at their organization, “in development/under
review” or “don’t know” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
10

(Continued)


Includes people with disabilities explicitly in its
diversity and inclusion plan. 29% 36% 7% 27%
(n =349)

Has relationships with community organizations that
promote the employment of people with disabilities. 28% 37% 7% 28%
(n = 326)

Has senior management that demonstrates a strong
commitment to disability recruitment and hiring. 27% 42% 8% 23%
( n = 223)

11

(Continued)

Actively recruits people with disabilities.
26% 37% 6% 30%
(n = 273)

Takes advantage of tax incentives for hiring people
with disabilities (e.g., Small Business Tax Credit,
Architectural/ Transportation Tax Deduction or Work 26% 34% 6% 34%
Opportunities Tax Credit).
(n = 128)
Includes progress toward recruitment or hiring goals
for people with disabilities in the performance
29% 33% 11% 28%
appraisals of senior management.
(n = 99)

12

Comparison by
Organization Sector

13

Definition of Sectors

 Publicly owned for-profit organization is a limited liability company that offers its
securities (stock/shares, bonds/loans, etc.) for sale to the general public, typically through
a stock exchange or through market makers operating in over-the-counter markets. This is
separate and distinct from a government-owned corporation that might be described as a
publicly owned company.

 Privately owned for-profit organization is a business company owned either by
nongovernmental organizations or by a relatively small number of shareholders or
company members. A privately owned for-profit organization does not offer or trade its
company stock (shares) to the general public on the stock market exchanges, but rather
the company's stock is offered, owned and traded or exchanged privately. Less ambiguous
terms for a privately held company are unquoted company and unlisted company.

 Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor a technical definition, but generally refers to
an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals rather than to distribute
them as profit or dividends. States in the U.S. defer to the IRS designation conferred
under United States Internal Revenue Code Section 501 when the IRS deems an
organization eligible. A nonprofit organization may or may not have shareholders.
14

Comparison by Organization Sector

Our organization…
actively recruits people with disabilities.
Organization sector Differences based on organization sector
Publicly owned for- Privately owned for-
Publicly owned for-profits (58%) Privately owned for-profits (41%) >
profits profits

has relationships with community organizations that promote the employment of people with disabilities.
profits profits

includes progress toward recruitment or hiring goals for people with disabilities in the performance appraisals
of senior management.
profits profits

Only statistically significant differences are shown.

15

(Continued)
Our organization…
takes advantage of tax incentives for hiring people with disabilities.
Privately owned for-profits (21%) Publicly owned for- privately owned for-
Publicly owned for-profits (42%) >
Nonprofits (23%) profits profits, nonprofits

requires subcontractors/suppliers to adhere to disability nondiscrimination requirements.

includes people with disabilities explicitly in its diversity and inclusion plan.


16

(Continued)
Our organization…

has explicit organizational goals related to the recruitment or hiring of people with disabilities.

Publicly owned for-profits (40%) Publicly owned for- privately owned for-
Privately owned for-profits (19%) >
Nonprofits (34%) profits, nonprofits profits

has senior management that demonstrates a strong commitment to disability recruitment and hiring.
Publicly owned for-profits (49%) Publicly owned for- privately owned for-
Privately owned for-profits (32%) >
Nonprofits (48%) profits, nonprofits profits


17

Comparison by
Organization Staff Size

18

Comparison by Organization Staff Size

Our organization…
actively recruits people with disabilities.
Smaller organizations Larger organizations Differences based on organization staff size
1 to 99 employees (37%) 2,500 to 24,999 employees (64%)
Larger organizations > smaller organizations
100 to 499 employees (39%) 25,000 or more employees (78%)

has relationships with community organizations that promote the employment of people with disabilities.
1 to 99 employees (48%)
2,500 to 24,999 employees (75%) Larger organizations > smaller organizations

includes people with disabilities explicitly in its diversity and inclusion plan.
500 to 2,499 employees (66%)
1 to 99 employees (47%) 2,500 to 24,999 employees (72%) Larger organizations > smaller organizations
25,000 or more employees (85%)


19

(Continued)
Our organization…
has explicit organizational goals related to the recruitment or hiring of people with disabilities.
25,000 or more employees (52%) Larger organizations > smaller organizations

includes progress toward recruitment or hiring goals for people with disabilities in the performance appraisals
of senior management.


100 to 499 employees (12%) 25,000 or more employees (39%) Larger organizations > smaller organizations

participates in internships or similar programs that target people with disabilities.
2,500 to 24,999 employees (28%)
100 to 499 employees (13%) 25,000 or more employees (35%) Larger organizations > smaller organizations


20

(Continued)
Our organization…
has senior management that demonstrates a strong commitment to disability recruitment and hiring.
25,000 or more employees (63%) Larger organizations > smaller organizations

takes advantage of tax incentives for hiring people with disabilities.
500 to 2,499 employees (36%)
2,500 to 24,999 employees (43%) Larger organizations > smaller organizations

requires subcontractors/suppliers to adhere to disability nondiscrimination requirements.
500 to 2,499 employees (68%)
1 to 99 employees (46%) 2,500 to 24,999 employees (69%) Larger organizations > smaller organizations

21

Demographics: Organization Industry

Percentage of
Industry
Respondents
Manufacturing 26%
Finance and insurance 12%
Professional, scientific and technical services 12%
Retail trade 12%
Wholesale trade 9%
Transportation and warehousing 8%
Accommodation and food services 7%
Entertainment and recreation 5%
Information 5%
Utilities 5%
Construction 4%
Educational services 4%
Note: n = 637. Total does not equal 100% due to multiple response options .

22

Demographics: Organization Industry
(Continued)

Percentage of
Industry
Respondents
Health care and social assistance 4%
Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional and similar organizations 4%
Repair and maintenance 4%
Real estate and rental and leasing 3%
Administrative and support and waste management and
2%
remediation services
Management of companies and enterprises 2%
Public administration 2%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 1%
Mining 1%
Personal and laundry services 1%
Other 8%
Note: n = 637. Total does not equal 100% due to multiple response options .

23

Demographics: Respondents by Organization
Sector

Privately owned for-profit organization 56%

Publicly owned for-profit organization 28%

Nonprofit organization 14%

Other 3%

n = 611

24

Demographics: Respondents by Organization
Staff Size

1 to 99 employees 23%

100 to 499 employees 28%

500 to 2,499
24%
employees

2,500 to 24,999
18%
employees

25,000 or more 7%
n = 627
employees

25

Demographics: Other

Does your organization have U.S.-based In the U.S., is your organization a singe-unit
operations (business units) only or does it or a multi-unit company?
operate multinationally?
Multi-unit company 80%
U.S.-based operations only 60%
Single-unit company 20%
Multinational operations 40%
n = 635
n = 617

Are HR policies and practices determined by
the multi-unit corporate headquarters, by each
What is the level of HR department/function work location or both?
for which you responded throughout this
survey? Multi-unit headquarters determines
51%
HR policies and practices
Corporate (companywide) 57% A combination of both the work
location and the multi-unit
Facility/location 26% 46%
headquarters determine HR policies
and practices
Business unit/division 17%
Each work location determines HR
n = 519 3%
policies and practices
n = 516

26

Survey Methodology

 Response rate = 23%.

 Sample consisted of 662 HR professional respondents from a randomly selected sample of
SHRM’s membership.

 A series of e-mail reminders along with a call campaign were used to encourage survey
participation.

 Margin of error is +/-3%.

 Survey fielded October 19-December 15, 2011.

• For more survey/poll findings, visit www.shrm.org/surveys
• For more information about SHRM’s Customized Research Services,
visit www.shrm.org/customizedresearch
• Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SHRM_Research
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Further Information Available

 SHRM® Disability Employment Resource Page
http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/Diversity/Articles/Pages/disability_072110.aspx
 HR. Tips – www.hrtips.org

 Employer Assistance and Resource Network (EARN)- www.askEARN.org

 Job Accommodation Network - http://askjan.org/

 National ADA Network – www.adata.org

 Cornell Employment and Disability Institute publications online
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/

 Employment and Disability Institute at Cornell University - www.ilr.cornell.edu/edi/

 U.S. Disability Status Report - www.disabilitystatistics.org

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