Building employer capability to offer inclusive employment opportunities

Overview 

Employers play a key role in creating the conditions for positive employment outcomes for people with disability – particularly through building inclusive workplaces. However, many employers benefit from support in building their skills, knowledge, and confidence in disability inclusion and how to achieve it in practice. Employment service providers, disability organisations, and others play a vital role in building employer capability in this space.  

Inclusive employment requires both positive attitudes towards disability and practical knowledge about how to address barriers in the workplace. Employers also need confidence in their ability to work with and problem-solve together with their employees with disability. ¹

Key strategies for success 

Overall, employers benefit from capability-building support in creating an inclusive workplace in the following areas: 

• building positive attitudes to disability
• accessible buildings and infrastructure: addressing physical access both into and within the workplace (including bathrooms, kitchens, and work areas) as well as transport and parking to and from work.
• accessible and inclusive communication(Opens in a new tab/window)
• inclusive recruitment and induction(Opens in a new tab/window)
• inclusive retention and promotion: equal access to training, career progression discussions, and connecting with career mentors
• inclusive culture and leadership.  

While the evidence on ‘what works’ in building inclusive workplaces is still developing, several effective strategies are emerging: 

• providing access to disability awareness and responsiveness training
• acting as a trusted expert who provides access to high-quality information, resources, and training
• offering safe spaces and building a culture of learning among and between employers
• supporting employers to ‘try, test, and learn’ by piloting initiatives and improving them over time
• providing ongoing, tailored support to employers at multiple levels of the organisation – for example:
  • board level: creating an inclusive leadership environment
  • HR level: building direct skills in inclusive recruitment
  • line manager level: building skills in supportive supervision. ^{2 3}

One effective employer capability building approach involved a highly tailored, one-to-one model with businesses. This included customised assessments of organisational needs and goals, a ‘disability-friendly’ check to identify recruitment and workplace barriers, followed by specialist advice on practical steps and quick wins. Ongoing support was then provided to help businesses implement the changes. ⁴