Access and Inclusion is Good for Business

Inclusion Not for Profit, the Australian Network on Disability, has launched a new video illustrating the business case for the inclusion of people with disability in all aspects of business – as employees, customers and stakeholders.

The video highlights the current rates of disability in Australia, and encourages businesses to recognise people with disability as valuable potential employees and customers.

“There are more than four million people with disability in Australia, and 10 per cent of the Australian workforce, just over one million people, have some form of disability,” AND Chief Executive Suzanne Colbert said.

“As the prevalence of disability increases with age, and Australia has an ageing workforce, it is vitally important for businesses to think strategically about access and inclusion for people with disability.

“It makes sense for businesses to be accessible and inclusive to people with disability to ensure that they can hire the best person for the job, and retain their skilled and experienced employees who may acquire disability.”

She said many Australian employers are already reaping the business benefits of employing people with disability.

“Many of AND’s members, including large employers like Westpac, ANZ, IBM, Telstra and Woolworths, as well as many government departments, are already taking a proactive approach to recruit more people with disability, and make their systems, processes and premises more accessible. We encourage all Australian businesses to make inclusion of people with disability a priority area within their operational strategy,” Colbert said.

“Potential employees and customers with disability represent a substantial opportunity to business.”

AND said the Business Case for Inclusion includes:

Talent: When organisations make their recruitment processes and workplaces barrier-free to people with disability, they ensure that they are able to hire the best person for the job.

Reputation: Studies have shown employees and customers are more loyal to organisations that demonstrate they value diversity and inclusion.

Risk: Research shows that workers with disability often have lower rates of absenteeism and employee turnover and low incidence of workplace injury, which all help to create cost effective businesses.