Disability Friendly Business
Certification Program
Presenters: Chris Oakley, Federal Reserve Bank of
Atlanta, Jacksonville Branch
Margaret Downey, CSX
John Wagner and Ang Pracher, Florida Blue
Facilitator: Leslie Wilson, Wilson Resources, Inc.
Would you hire these
people?
Stephen Hawking
Catherine Zeta Jones Bruce Springsteen
Buzz Aldrin Temple Grandin, Ph.D.
People with disabilities are
one of America’s largest minority
groups. There are an estimated 56.7
million Americans with a disability,
18.7% of the population;
29 million of working age, 16.6%.
For businesses/employers that
equals untapped employees and
customers.
Source: U.S. Census Report: Americans with Disabilities 2010
Employer Attitudes
The 2007, 2008 and 2009 surveys conducted by
Wilson Resources, Inc. of 351 Florida BLN
employers found that the number one impediment
to the employment of people with disabilities, at
all corporate levels, was:
“Attitudes”
The 2008 and 2009 Florida BLN surveys
highlighted “hiring managers” &“front-line staff”
as most concerned about hiring
workers with disabilities.
“Millions of dollars are spent preparing
job seekers with disabilities to work but
there is no investment in preparing the
workplace for a diverse workforce that
includes people with disabilities.”
-- John
Wagner
Senior Director Medicare, Florida Blue, Chair United States Business Leadership
Network Corporate Advisory Board, Immediate Past President Florida & First Coast Business
Leadership Networks, Board Member First Coast BLN
The World is Changing
“The Hidden ‘D’ in Diversity is Disability”
•Trends indicate that the labor market will look much
different tomorrow than it did in the past.
•Our ability to recruit, retain, and engage our
employees will be affected by how well we
anticipate and adapt to this new workforce.
•The workforce is aging; five generations are
represented.
The World is Changing
“The Hidden ‘D’ in Diversity is Disability”
--Ron Parker, SVP, Global Diversity, Pepsico
The number of people with disabilities is on the rise
due to many factors, including an aging population.
There are 77 million baby boomers – it is estimated
that 52% of the boomers will become disabled.
•The global population of people with disabilities is
1.1 billion -- and rising. As a comparison, China’s
population is 1.3 billion.
The World is Changing
“The Hidden ‘D’ in Diversity is Disability”
•Technological advances give people with
disabilities more access to a fuller life and that
includes work.
•Like other aspects of diversity, employers can
benefit from insuring talented people with
disabilities are represented in the workforce.
The World is Changing
“
The Hidden ‘D’ in Diversity is Disability”
•Americans with disabilities have an estimated
combined income of over $1 trillion with more than
$200 billion in discretionary income.
•Adjusted by population, state income, and disability
prevalence, Floridians with disabilities are estimated
to have a combined income of $59 billion with $13
billion in discretionary income.
•Employers who understand the needs and
purchasing habits of people with disabilities will be
able to tap into their consumer spending.
The World is Changing
“The Hidden ‘D’ in Diversity is Disability”
Nearly a quarter of Americans work for a federal
contractor. In December 2011, the U.S. DOL’s Office of
Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced
proposed revisions to the Section 503 rule. The proposed rule
would require federal contractors and subcontractors with
$50,000 or more in federal contracts & 50+ employees to set a
hiring goal of having 7% of their workforces be people with
disabilities across job groups. The final rule is expected later
this year.
The Business Case
The
DiversityInc.Top 10 Companies for
People with Disabilities
1 Ernst & Young
2 IBM
3 Procter & Gamble
4 Merck & Co.
5 Sodexo
6 Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
7 Prudential Financial
8 KPMG
9 Rockwell Collins
10 AT&T
To see the top 50 Companies for Diversity from DiversityInc Magazine, click here The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity Announced
Disability Friendly Business
Certification
Supported
By:
Is Your Company
Disability Friendly?
Bringing Disability to the
Forefront of Diversity
www.NationalCTC.com
Disability Friendly
Business Certification
Developed by Business for Business
A Cooperative Project of the First Coast Business Leadership
Network (BLN) and the National Certification and Training
Center, A Division of Wilson Resources, Inc. (WRI)
The purpose of the Disability Friendly Business Certification
Program is to assist businesses to become “disability friendly”
and recognize businesses for their outstanding efforts to include
and meet the needs of employees and
customers with disabilities.
Companies that Participated in
Developing the Certification
Program:
 Florida Blue
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta,
Jacksonville Branch
 Holland and Knight Law Firm
 Great Florida Bank
 Baptist Health South Florida
 Merrill Lynch
 Citigroup
 Home Depot
 SunTrust Bank
 Wilson Resources, Inc.
Disability Friendly
Business Certification
“ In the process of completing the Disability Friendly
Certification Program Application, and taking a very close look
at the required dimensions, we saw that there were a number of
areas where we could really improve…We also increased our
education efforts and conducted more training on disability
etiquette for our workforce.”
Margaret Downey
CSX, International Transportation Co.
Board Member, First Coast BLN
Disability Friendly
Business Certification
Benefits to Employers
Bringing Disability to the Forefront of Diversity
www.NationalCTC.com
 Assure your company is “disability friendly”
 Assist your company in identifying strengths & weaknesses
 Assist federal contractors to meet OFCCP’s Section 503
Affirmative Action requirements
 Promote your company as “disability-friendly” and attract
the attention one of the largest minority groups in the
country
 Internally and externally promote your company’s
commitment to diversity and a positive work environment
Disability Friendly
Business Certification
Benefits to Employers
Bringing Disability to the Forefront of Diversity
www.NationalCTC.com
Certified Businesses Receive:
 A framed certificate and the Disability Friendly Business logo to be posted on
the business’ website, emails, stationery and other corporate printed
materials. Certification is good for 2 years.
 Disability Friendly Business window stickers
 Posting of the names of all the Certified Disability Friendly Businesses on the
National Certification and Training Center website: www.NationalCTC.com
Disability Friendly
Business Certification
Description of the Disability Friendly Business
Certification Assessment Tool
Leadership:
Assesses the C-suite’s commitment to the
employment of people with disabilities by taking actions to include them in
the organization’s workforce
Programs: Assesses the company’s commitment to recruitment
and mentoring
Cultural Readiness: Assesses the creation of an inclusive and
welcoming environment for workers, customers/clients/constituents,
business partners and visitors with disabilities
Physical & Technological Environment:
Assesses
whether the environment is friendly to people with disabilities
Recommendations to Improve the Company’s
Commitment to a Diverse Workforce That Includes
People with Disabilities
Disability Friendly
Business Certification





How it Works
Bringing Disability to the Forefront of Diversity
www.NationalCTC.com
The Certification is good for two years.
Access the assessment tool at www.nationalctc.com – you
have 90 days to access the tool electronically or WRI will
offer a paper version. The cost to access the tool is $300.
Go through the tool’s five domains (see previous slide) –
the results are confidential to your company unless you
want to share them with WRI and request assistance
Companies meeting 80% of the criteria become certified
WRI receives an email notifying it that your company met
80% of the criteria
Disability Friendly
Business Certification
COST of CERTIFICATION
Bringing Disability to the Forefront of Diversity
www.NationalCTC.com
The fee structure* (fee for 2 years) for companies with one location is:
Under 100 employees and/or a nonprofit - $500
101 - 499 employees - $1,000
500+ employees - $1,500
The fee structure* (fee for 2 years) for companies with multiple
locations:
A flat fee of $2,500 will cover 4 locations. A $100 fee
can
be paid for each additional location (beyond the original 4).
*The $300 paid to access the assessment tool is deducted from the
certification fee, if your company becomes certified.
Companies that Have Become
Certified Thus Far:
 Amerigroup 15 locations around the
country
 CSX 5 Locations in Jacksonville, FL
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta:
Home Office & Jacksonville, Miami,
Birmingham Branches
 Florida Blue
 Victoria and Associates
 Miami Dade College
 OhioHealth
Disability Friendly
Business Certification
“The process of evaluating my organization’s progress toward being
a “ disability friendly business ” was extremely valuable. The
assessment in and of itself provides critical insight into successes and
opportunities for improvement. We found that most “tweaks” to the
environment were valued by our entire workforce.”
Chris Oakley
Vice President and Regional Executive
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta,
Jacksonville Branch
President, First Coast BLN
Recommendations to Help Your Company Become
“Disability Friendly”
1. Be Proactive – Become a “Certified” Disability Friendly
business.
2. Become a member of the state/local Business Leadership
Network.
3. Update your company’s Diversity Plan to include people
with disabilities as part of your diverse workforce, and
announce the company’s efforts so that employees with
disabilities feel comfortable revealing their disabilities.
4. Ensure your company has an annually revised Affirmative
Action Plan and Diversity Statement that include people with
disabilities. Ask for input from your employees.
Recommendations to Help Your Company Become
Disability Friendly…continued
5. Train mid-level managers, supervisors and front-line staff to
successfully work with people with disabilities by allaying
concerns and dispelling myths.
6. Organize an Employee Resource Group for People with
Disabilities, or if your company has limited ERGs or a Diversity
Committee, be sure to include people with disabilities.
7. Create a centralized budget for accommodations so that unit
budgets are not affected.
8.
Maintain an Accommodations Log.
9. Serve on an employment service provider’s Employer
Advisory Committee or Board of Directors.
Recommendations to Help Your Company Become
Disability Friendly…continued
10. Create relationships with organizations assisting people with
disabilities to become employed, e.g., Vocational Rehabilitation,
service providers, school transition programs
11. Participate in Disability Mentoring Day or other mentoring
programs, and more formal Internship Programs – excellent, norisk opportunities to source qualified candidates
12. Create an internal marketing piece that shows the company is
proactive in recruiting people with disabilities.
13. Talk openly with all candidates about the company’s efforts
to recruit people with disabilities.
14. Be Proactive – Become a “Certified” Disability Friendly
business.
“I want to challenge every employer here to
hire a person with disabilities this year -- and
another one next year, and the year after
that. This effort isn’t charity or good
corporate citizenship –
it’s just smart business.”
-- Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
Contact
Information
Leslie Wilson, M.S.
President/CEO
Wilson Resources, Inc./National Certification &
Training Center
1747 Amberwynd Circle West
Palmetto, FL 34221
Phone: 941/729-9673
Email: lesliew@wilres.com
Websites:
www.wilres.com & www.NationalCTC.com