Harvard Business Review & Hiring Special Abilities Employees
As a regular reader of the Gabi’s newsletter, you already know that people with special abilities make fantastic employees and add value to any business. So why don’t more companies hire these great workers?
Unfortunately, while many firms support the idea of hiring specially-abled workers in theory, the unemployment rate for these wonderful workers remains much higher than it should be. Which begs the question—does it make good business sense to hire those with special abilities?
When Harvard Says It, People Listen
A recently-published article in the Harvard Business Review says ‘yes,’ and makes an excellent case for just about any business to benefit from hiring those with special abilities (I mean, we’ve been saying that for years, but when HBR speaks, companies tend to listen).
We wanted to highlight the key points from this Harvard Business Review article. So, here are the top 4 reasons it makes good business sense to hire people with special abilities.
Detail Management: First, there are some jobs that those with special abilities are just better at than the rest of us. Take counting, packing, labeling, and shipping, for example. These are all detail-oriented tasks and ones that the special abilities community excels at doing for businesses. People on the autism spectrum, for example, bring an immense amount of expertise in this area. They’ll make sure every “i” is dotted and every “t” is crossed because that’s their superpower. You need that in your organization. And we see it every day at Gabi’s Pals.
Employee Motivation: Second, having those with special abilities in your organization makes for a better workplace. How? Because neuro-typical workers (i.e., those without special abilities) see what those with special abilities can do, and it forces them to rethink their own limitations. For example, if John, who has Down Syndrome, comes to work every day and sells more products than everyone else, people just naturally start to think, “Wow! If John can do that, why can’t I?” Workers with special abilities are some of the hardest-working members of any team, and they tend to put “typical” workers to shame. That tends to raise everyone’s performance level, which is great for any company’s bottom line.
Customer Love: Third, customers appreciate businesses that hire those with special abilities. Regardless of political opinion, most people tend to support a company that provides opportunities for the specially abled. Who wouldn’t want to see them succeed? People will go out of their way to give their business to a bakery or a coffee shop that employs the specially abled because it makes them feel good. Companies should take advantage of that. It’s a win-win for employer and employee.
Employee Recruitment: Finally, companies who provide opportunities to the specially abled tend to attract higher quality candidates overall. Most people feel good about working for a company that hires those with special abilities. Given the choice between two relatively equal job opportunities, the employer with specially-abled associates tends to win out. Because everyone feels good about providing diversity, equity, and inclusion opportunities to those who are neuro-diverse and who desperately need opportunities in the workforce (and why wouldn’t they?).
In summary, specially-abled people make awesome workers; adding value to a company’s bottom line in a multitude of ways. As the Harvard Business Review article points out, even an employer that isn’t necessarily socially conscious should hire the specially-abled because it makes good business sense.
We’ve known all along that hiring people with special abilities helps to change lives and positively impact businesses. We are so glad that major academic publications and Corporate America are joining us to recognize their superpowers, too!
Learn more about how Gabi’s PALS helps small, medium and large companies with packaging, assembling, labeling and shipping services to seamlessly get their products to consumers.
