Graduate Recruiter’s Disability Café
Wednesday 26th September, 2012
Introduction & Context
On 26 September, My Plus Consulting hosted more than 35
delegates for a Graduate Recruiter’s Disability Café. The
Café was focused on the issue of ‘disclosure’ amongst
disabled job applicants. Research showed that 71% of
disabled students would prefer not to tell an employer about
their disability. However employers wish to know for a
number of reasons, including being able to implement
adjustments required by the individual.
Waqas Samad, Managing Director, Barclays, opened the
Café by welcoming the delegates and speaking of the talent
that existed amongst disabled individuals; talent that
employers would miss out on if they weren’t disability
confident.
Helen Cooke, Director of My Plus Consulting, introduced
the focus of the event and also covered how the Café would
be facilitated.
The delegates were also introduced to Doug Cameron of
Grasshopper Design who would be creating a graphic
recording of all discussions and conversations.
Introduction & Context
Getting started…
Getting started….
Helen started the delegates
thinking about the afternoon’s
subject by asking them to write on
the white table cloths a few words
about what they wished to get out
of the event.
Areas of interest included:
• Understanding the concerns.
• How to handle a late disclosure.
• The opportunity to learn from
universities.
Our Speakers…
Helen Cooke
Helen Cooke, Director of My Plus
Consulting and founder of the
Disability Cafès, spoke about 3 key
areas concerning disclosure. She
started off talking about the reasons
that recruiters were asking
applicants to disclose their disability
and their need to be clear as to how
they were going to use the
information. Secondly she talked
about why applicants were reluctant
to disclose; including factors such as
fearing discrimination, not wanting
favourable treatment, uncertainty
about why they were being asked
and not seeing themselves as
disabled. Finally, Helen talked about
what recruiters needed to be doing
to encourage applicants to be more
open and to inform a potential
employer of their disability and their
need for adjustments.
Discussion…
Disability support services.
Following Helen’s presentations the delegates were asked to consider the following question:
•
From what you have learnt today, what do you need to do differently to
ensure that disabled applicants feel comfortable telling you about their
disability or health condition?
In small groups, delegates discussed what they needed to be doing to encourage disabled
applicants to be open about their disability with employers, and to encourage early disclosure.
As the delegates spoke they captured their conversations by drawing and writing on the table
cloths. The delegates were also asked to move around the room in order to continue their
discussions with others and hear what else was being spoken about.
The panel discussion…
The panel discussion
After the break Helen facilitated an open
panel discussion. This started with the
panel members talking about their own
situation and their thoughts about
informing an employer about their
disability. Delegates were then given the
opportunity to ask questions to find out
more about areas that were of interest.
The panel members were:
• Jamile Ferreira; Legal Coucil, Barclays.
• Arunima Misra; Lawyer, Ashursts.
• Christina Nelson; Law Student, SOAS.
• Tamsin Shattock; Graduate, University of Oxford.
• Madeleine Warren; Diversity Manager, Goldman Sachs.
Insights
During the final part of the Café, Helen took the participants through the graphic recording of the afternoon so far
reminding them of what they had heard, the key questions they had been asked, and the conversations that had
taken place.
The participants were then asked for their key learnings from the afternoon; these included:
• The importance of explaining why you are asking.
• How you are asking the question.
• Explaining how the information
will be used.
Next steps….
We are delighted to announce the dates for
next year’s Disability Cafès. These are:
• 6th March
• 5th June
• 11th September
Further information about these Café will be
available shortly.
Members of the Graduate Recruiter’s
Disability Café Club will also be invited to
attend the breakfast seminars; these are
taking place as follows:
• 29th January
• 26th April
• 3rd July
For those wishing to join the Graduate
Recruiter’s Disability Café Club you are
invited to offset the cost of this Café against
membership should you wish to do so.
Please contact Helen Cooke for more
information. Helen@myplusconsulting.com.
This offer is open until the 19th October,
2012.
Contact Details
Host:
Helen Cooke
Director
My Plus Consulting
Tel: 01753 360018
Mobile: 07740 986758
Email: helen@myplusconsulting.com
www.myplusconsulting.com
Graphic recorder:
Doug Cameron
Grasshopper Design.
Tel: 07766 945902
Email: doug@grasshopperdesign.co.uk