Disabled employees rank highest for talent

Disabled employees outperform all other groups in terms of innovation and professional ambition.

This is one of the findings from the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), published this month in its paper, Attitudes to Employability and Talent. The Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) has welcomed the CIPD’s data, which follow in the wake of its own recent research revealing that 85% of disabled jobseekers have faced challenges during the recruitment process, with 56% first encountering challenges at the application stage.

The CIPD’s findings are based on insight from 1,078 UK-based HR practitioners who were surveyed on their perceptions of specific groups in relation to attributes that define a ‘talented employee’.

Individuals with disabilities ranked more highly than any other group in the categories of ‘Brings new and innovative ideas’ and ‘A great desire to develop’. The group also scored particularly highly in the categories of ‘Fits with organisational values’, ‘Good work ethic’, ‘Reliable’, and ‘Positive attitude to work’. Other groups that respondents were asked to rate included: older workers; young people; parents returning to work; migrant workers; ex-offenders; and ex-service personnel.

However, when quizzed on current approaches to recruiting from diverse workforce groups, only 11% of respondents said they actively target individuals with disabilities during recruitment. This is despite the fact that over half (51%) currently employ professionals with physical and mental health conditions.

Commenting on the research, RIDI spokesperson, Kate Headley, Director of Consultancy at The Clear Company, the UK’s leading provider of disability recruitment and employment solutions said: “The CIPD’s data supports RIDI’s long held ethos – that disabled employees are an incredibly valuable, yet often overlooked, area of the workforce. It’s no surprise that, when prompted, HR professionals recognise that disabled professionals have a knack for innovation and a particularly strong desire to develop themselves. People with long-term or limiting conditions usually have a wealth of experience in finding solutions to challenges and an innate drive to succeed.

“It seems that while HR professionals understand the benefits of engaging with disabled jobseekers, they may not have the confidence to reach out to them directly. Businesses can become more inclusive by working collaboratively with their recruitment suppliers and seeking advice from other organisations to target this rich, yet largely untapped, talent pool.”