B2B Guide to Innovative Hiring and Retention

The Guide is a resource for employers on how to adapt recruitment and retention practices to better engage people with disabilities and others with barriers to employment, including success stories and valuable lessons learned by organizations that are already successfully employing inclusively.

Learn about the Guide directly from those who created it! Then, check it out, at untappedtalent.info

Video Transcript:

[Matthew Smedley] If we took a moment to think about the power and value of work, for people typically excluded from the workforce, it’s truly life-changing.

Imagine what it would be like if you want to work but you can’t, not because you’re incapable, but because you don’t fit into the mold. Nine to five or midnight to 4:00 a.m. isn’t possible. That very situation is the unfortunate reality for thousands of people in BC.

These are people with remarkable strengths, skills, and extraordinary insights who are living with challenges, people with disabilities, health challenges, and a wide range of other barriers to traditional employment. They have been disconnected from work and disenfranchised by being denied opportunities to work.

It’s not just about getting money and getting out of poverty.

It’s really about people having opportunities for connection, contributing to a community, having a sense of purpose.

There is stability and dignity that comes from work.

You have the power to provide employment. And when you do, you are pulling a significant lever, one that changes communities.

[Jamie Millar-Dixon] I think no matter where you are in life, you want to contribute, do something, make something, and challenge yourself as you take on a job. Having that sense of purpose is important.

And let’s face it, for the past several years, we’ve been in a hiring crisis. We were experiencing significant workforce shortages, yet we know there are thousands of people in communities who are ready and willing to work when connected with the right opportunity.

That’s what this video is all about and why we created Untapped Talent, the B2B Guide on Innovative Hiring and Retention for organizations.

This guide helps employers tap into an often overlooked talent pool and offers you the opportunity to be part of a much wider solution.

The goal is to provide a useful framework for building capacity within organizations to hire and retain people with disabilities, diverse abilities, and others who experience barriers to employment.

I think we’re in a period where we’re seeing this is now more important than ever to ensure our workforce reflects communities we do business in.

Through BC Partners and Workforce Innovation we’re also developing an e-learning series using this guide content and the experiences working with inclusive employers. It’s going to be launched in the summer of 2020.

[Shane Simpson] Inclusive hiring acknowledges that a straightforward path to employment really isn’t available to everyone. It recognizes that some people face significant barriers to standard employment. And with the right resources, supports, and opportunities, employment is an empowering and affirming tool in building a better life.

Now more than ever, it’s imperative that we create opportunities for people to participate in their community, to meet their own potential, and to reduce social isolation.

We wanna help people break the cycle of poverty and live more enriched lives. Inclusive hiring is a critical and important part of that process. I encourage you, no, I challenge you, to make inclusive hiring a part of your organization.

[Stuart McNish] I took that challenge and I’m happy I did. We keep hearing about social responsibility and I can’t think of a greater social contribution than providing employment.

Three years ago, I was offered the opportunity to hire a person who was outside the traditional definition of employment and am I ever glad I did and so is the rest of our team.

[Lisa Beecroft] We quickly saw how it had a massive impact on our business in so many positive ways.

We have a dishwasher that he’s like a ninja. Like no one…

It’s crazy, you go back in there and you’re like, how did you manage to do this so quickly? And he does it with joy and he brings so much of that happiness and joy when he comes to work that it’s so infectious.

My biggest message that I like to share to other business owners is, finding a community partner that can help you. That has been really the key to our success, is finding those agencies that work really closely with us, that take the time to get to know our business and they understand our needs and so they really help us to find that right candidate.

[Bobby MacDonald] The B2B Guide that we’ve developed is a great step in helping businesses and organizations understand that hiring just goes beyond just your basic HR principles.

Hiring is an ethos in your organization and what you prioritize is important. And prioritizing diversity and inclusivity is an important step towards a more equitable workplace and a more equitable society. It gives people an opportunity not to be judged based on their limitations but on what they can excel in doing.

[Dylan Goggs] I think it’s really important that organizations and companies have a guide that lays out exactly what inclusive employment is and the benefits of that for organizations like ourselves but also for them. It’s actually a win-win because it’s good for their business and it’s good for their businesses reputation.

[Dave Woogman] It’s beneficial to an organization to create an environment where there is caring, right. Both, not only caring for your customer but also caring for your staff. And I think when you have a diverse employment base, you enhance that caring and people tend to step up and really take ownership and you really create a warm environment for your staff and you really enhance the culture

[Johanna Li] This support of employment approach creates impact that is real and highly visible. Those who have not worked for years quickly begin to see their physical and mental health improve. Your stress levels decrease and a chance of confidence and dignity soar.

[Naved Noorani] If we were to look at the amount of resources that have gone into producing this guide, it’s enormous. It gives you a wealth of knowledge, a wealth of you know sharing that has gone on behind the scenes to create this document.

[Susanna Tam] At ICBC, we are committed to being an inclusive employer, one that reflects the diversity of the people and communities of BC in which we serve. We are very focused on inclusive hiring. As an employer, it’s in our best interest to find the best people, and it just makes good sense to cast our net as widely as possible.

We want to intentionally remove barriers in order to include people who might not come to us through the usual recruitment paths. Business keeps changing and we know that diverse and inclusive teams drive growth and innovation. When people feel like they belong and are valued for their diverse perspectives at work, it makes us better.

[Naved Noorani] This guide is gonna help you refer to it and say, here’s how you can get things done in a simple way. And I think it’s not only for the leadership but it’s also for our mid-level managers to look at and say, here’s a guide that you can look at that we all believe in. And here’s how you’re gonna be getting the resource you need.

[Jamie Millar-Dixon] So you’re an employer, a business owner, and you need to adapt where you find employees, how you hire. It means doing things differently and many don’t know where to start. This resource helps with that.

It helps organizations small, medium or large navigate the realities of employing people with disabilities and other barriers to employment.

[Narrator] Including people with disabilities in your workforce is easy when you have the right knowledge, opportunity and employer-focused community partnership support. The B2B Guide pass it on to other businesses and take the e-learning course. Let us help your business thrive with inclusive hiring.