Celebrating important days and months makes more sense when employers and employees alike use these opportunities to create real change in their organizations. One way to truly make this NDEAM count is to adopt a formal company policy or make actionable improvements to the existing one so that your company can provide more employment opportunities for the disabled. Such a policy change will not only bring to the forefront the company’s commitment to making a difference but will also help the eligible candidates recognize your organization as one that is truly committed to providing equal opportunities.
Many folks tend not to be as aware of the issues of disabled professionals as the cultures behind occasions like AAPI Heritage Month, Black History Month, or Mental Health Awareness Month. One way to educate employees during the occasion is through trivia. You can package information about the disability rights movement and disability employment as a fun team game. To make the competition more meaningful, allow the winning team to choose an on-theme charity to donate a company contribution. Here are more ways to celebrate NDEAM at work: https://teambuilding.com/blog/national-disability-employment-awareness-month
The best way to celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month is to show your employees you appreciate them. This is the perfect opportunity to revise and revamp your company's disability benefits. You might consider increasing the income provided to injured or recovering employees. Another option would be to create additional benefits to support their families should the unthinkable happen. These changes may seem small at the moment, but they make a world of difference to people facing disability employment.
Employers can work with students in non-traditional classes or who participate in community workshops a chance to tour the facility. Managers can talk to them about what happens in the process and even let them take on a couple of small tasks, depending on the company, the product and safety. Afterward, the company can treat them to lunch. This would would be a great bonding time for students and managers or executives. It would expose co-workers to those who are different, promote disability awareness and diversity. It exposes students to how something is made and how a company works through the process. It would also allow managers the chance to see what types of jobs those with disabilities can do within the company. It may even lead to a recruitment effort.
Encourage your team to connect those who might be interested in Social Security’s Ticket to Work Program. The program is for people aged 18-64 who currently receive disability benefits and want to work. Spread the information so that your company can help connect people with disabilities who aren’t working but want a job to find one and to be successful in doing so! Text TICKET to 474747 to receive texts about the Ticket to Work Program!
Add American Sign Language (ASL) classes to your roster of L&D offerings. First, doing so will of course strengthen communications with deaf employees, but will open the door for recruiting more top hard of hearing or deaf job candidates moving forward! Additionally, fun classes are offered both online and at local colleges and universities. Most employees will be excited at the prospect of learning another language. There simply aren’t any downsides.
There are some companies and businesses that go above and beyond when it comes to equal opportunity for the disabled. Employers like Walgreens and Goodwill make extra effort to give those with disabilities, particularly those with special needs and mental disabilities, a chance at quality employment. As such, one good way ordinary employers, who lack such comprehensive disability initiatives, can help to raise awareness for disability employment is to support other businesses. Basically, if your company isn’t large enough to offer such resources or programs, piggyback off of others. Give your business to these companies, and let your employees know why. Give employees a Walgreens stipend for the month, or Goodwill gift cards. Let them know you support the disability employment efforts of these other businesses and appreciate them for that. This will help raise awareness among your team as they get some cool perks.
A great idea for NDEAM is to host a lunch and learn, or a series of lunch and learns. You can invite expert speakers to enlighten and educate employees on the topic. Session subject ideas might include invisible disabilities, allyship towards disabled coworkers, and how to make accommodations for disabled clients. The topics could also be broader and non-work-specific, for instance, "the badasses of the disability rights movement." To set up your sessions, pick a focus, find a speaker, set a date, get a space, provide complimentary snacks or a meal, and invite your staff to eat and expand their horizons. Best of all, this type of programming is executable online as well as in person.
I believe that wise employers realize the advantages of employee volunteerism, which include increased team participation, leadership development, and other perks. In the spirit of NDEAM, why not arrange for your employees to volunteer at local groups that prepare persons with disabilities for employment? Volunteering your time to analyze resumes, stage mock interviews, and provide advice on how to dress for success is common in towns around the country. Engaging your employees to these possibilities is an excellent way to give back while also spreading awareness. These activities may also help you find talented job candidates with impairments for your firm.
Social media is one of the most overlooked areas when it comes to accesibility among the disabled. People often imagine people with disabilities to be confined to a wheelchair or to have some physical constraint. However, disabilities come in different forms---a main one being through learnnig impediments. The easiest way to make your social media profile more accessible and inclusive is by maintaining standard fonts in your captions. Besides the professional aethetic, regular Sans Serif fonts are nearly universal to visually process. Accounts using cursive and highly creative fonts exclude users with learning disabilities. Celebrate your disabled employees during their awareness month and beyond by giving your social media account a makeover: make it more visually appealing and legible to the wider public.
Prominently display #InclusionWorks posters from the US Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy to your team and customers, acknowledging and showing year-round support for persons with disabilities. Order them through their website or print them yourself. Beyond in-house support, it’s time to overhaul your marketing policies. Bring in a disabilities consultant to ensure your DEI initiatives include persons with disabilities and build marketing campaigns that offer disability inclusion in a way that doesn’t tokenize or utilize them solely for medical models that requires a “fix.” Persons with disabilities likely use your products daily - acknowledge and include them in your marketing.
DMD, I believe, supports professional development for youth who are disabled through hands-on programming, job shadowing, and ongoing mentoring. The national holiday is observed on the third Wednesday of October each year, however employers may opt to hold festivities on any day of the year. The American Association of People with Disabilities provides resources to help you plan a Disability Mentoring Day. Take advantage of this simple way to connect with top talent while also offering crucial job experience to young individuals with disabilities.
One way that employers can best celebrate NDEAM is by committing to hiring more disabled people. Disabled people are often underrepresented in the workforce, and this month provides an opportunity to change that. Employers can use NDEAM as a chance to learn about the benefits of hiring disabled employees and to make a commitment to increasing inclusion in their workplace. By making an effort to hire more disabled employees, employers can help create an inclusive environment that values all kinds of talent.
National disability employment month (NDEM) is the month when members of the American workforce celebrate the contributions of fellow American workers with disabilities. However, not every individual is aware of this celebration, and some who are, are clueless about its significance, this is why educating employees about the importance of this month is one way to kick off the National Disability Employment Month celebration in your workplace. There is this old saying that; knowledge is power. Knowledge of the contributions of the disabled remembers of the workforce will help your staff better understand and celebrate this month
I think NDEAM's disability educational events, such as brown-bag lunch talks are a great way to not only empower disabled employees but also spread awareness and education. Such events should also include fun activities to make the whole motive more experience and cause-driven. Employees can learn about a variety of topics related to disabilities by simply scheduling a time and place, enlisting presenters from within or without, and inviting them to attend. Your disability-related ERG (if you have one) is a great resource for suggesting topics like Communicating with Job Seekers with Disabilities, Creating Accessible PDF Documents, and Managing Diabetes at Work. These kinds of gatherings are fantastic for providing an informal setting in which employees can learn more about disability issues. Don't forget to conduct post-event surveys to get participant input and inspire future discussion points.
Fund a "Lunch and Learn" Series Organizing a series of "lunch and learn" gatherings for staff members during National Disability Employment Awareness Month is a straightforward approach to keeping NDEAM's enthusiasm going. Set the time and location, invite staff members to attend to learn about a variety of disability-related topics, and invite internal or external presenters. Such gatherings are a fantastic approach to enlighten personnel about disability issues in a relaxed environment. Don't forget to poll participants after each session to hear their thoughts and solicit suggestions for new topics.
One of the most significant ways to celebrate NDEAM in the workplace is to give employees care packages full of products from disabled-own small businesses. This activity is a win-win because it simultaneously supports employee wellness while putting money in the pockets of disabled entrepreneurs. Examples of items to include are snacks, mugs or water bottles, and self-care items like lotions or hand sanitizer. In these boxes, you can also include information about how to be a better ally to disabled coworkers and facts about disabled employment law and the disability rights movement.
Each year in October, the National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is celebrated to highlight the importance of including disability in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The purpose of this month is to acknowledge the contributions of the disabled community to the work world and to educate the wider workforce on related issues. Employers can celebrate them by hosting a webinar/discussion session on disability rights or diversity, equity, and inclusion, and inviting persons with disabilities to be part of the panel and participants. The topics of discussion should be relevant to the workforce and should show ways to include and support them while they work. This, in addition to creating awareness of different disabilities people may have, will show that your company acknowledges and includes them in all company activities.
NDEAM is the perfect opportunity for you to display your support for the cause, and one excellent way to do so is to invite members of the disabled community to your workplace to see what opportunities are available to them. Ask experienced members of your team to volunteer as mentors for the day (or the week) and allow your visitors to shadow them as they go about their daily tasks. Make sure to have plenty of practical tasks that your visitors can participate in and show them how their contributions are making a difference to the business. Members of the disabled community have much to offer any business and you will probably find that in addition to opening up their eyes to the opportunities available to them, you will also find some excellent new candidates for your next round of job openings.
Disabled people are mostly marginalized when it comes to employment. One of the best ways employers can celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month is to advocate for more inclusivity in employment across every field. Disabled people deserve to be given equal opportunity as those not disabled to prove their worth. Also, employers should ensure that the pay gap between the disabled and other employees is closed to reflect equality and equity.