Working With People With Disabilities in Your Business
People with disabilities often struggle with the issue of feeling excluded. More often than not, this manifests itself in the worst ways. For example, they can’t enter a building because it doesn’t have a ramp or get around a grocery store because they don’t have motorized carts. Sometimes, even their employers treat them differently. Learn how to work with people with disabilities in your business.
Ramp It Up
Can you imagine a day when everything is going well until it isn’t? Perhaps you have compromised mobility. You may be happy to hear that the world is slowly becoming more accommodating. For example, buses must make changes to make their bus wheelchair accessible. This can make traveling as a disabled person easier. Everything in your day may be going well, but the moment you decide to enter a building, you stop in your tracks because there are no ramps.
It’s not uncommon for someone with a disability to go about their day only to have something derail it. Do your customers or employees a favor and build things so that they can easily access your business. Your conscience will thank you.
Train Your Staff
Your staff should know how to work with people with disabilities. These are the most important aspects that you should train them on:
- Treat someone with a disability like you would anyone else while still being courteous. If they have health aides, don’t speak to them while leaving your customer out of the conversation.
- Don’t touch working disability animals (generally, they have a chest leash on that says do not touch).
This is an important part of working with people with disabilities in your business.
Ask What They Need
While you should treat your employees with disabilities the same as your other employees, it’s important to ask them what they need. Read up on accommodation policies at your job, then fill those standards to the best of your ability. If you want to make your business more inclusive to customers and staff, this is the way to do it.
2 Comments
Tamra Phelps
As someone in a wheelchair, I can tell you there are so many places that think they are wheelchair accessible but they really are not. It seems like they do the bare minimum, like putting in a steep, small ramp, and think that solves it. Nope.
heather
This post was super informaive and has a lot of great tips for employers to consider.