Building an Inclusive Workforce
Last July, Atlantic Grocery Distributors was featured by Ready, Willing & Able, on their website. Ready, Willing and Able (RWA) is a national partnership of the Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL), the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorders Alliance (CASDA) and their member organizations. Funded by the Government of Canada and active in 20 communities across the country, RWA is designed to increase the labour force participation of people with an intellectual disability or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Atlantic Grocery Distributors was featured because of a recent effort to build an inclusive culture.
Fear of the unknown often holds organizations back from building an inclusive workforce. According to a recent report by the Institute of Corporate Productivity, preconceived concerns about hiring workers with intellectual disabilities averaged 42% higher than challenges actually experienced employing them. At Atlantic Grocery Distributors Ltd. (AGD) in Bay Roberts, Newfoundland, this concern was top of mind for Supervisor, Bill Hunt, when he hired Tim to work as a janitor in the warehouse.
Tim was hired through the Mariner Resource Opportunities Network (MRON) with support from Ready, Willing and Able (RWA); a national initiative designed to increase the labour market participation of people with intellectual disabilities or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A key goal of supported employment partnerships such as MRON and RWA is to address many of the preconceived barriers that employers anticipate when it comes to hiring an individual with an intellectual disability or ASD. This often includes safety concerns, productivity and the effect on team performance and corporate culture.
“We had some concern about how Tim’s disability would affect his work and his co-workers,” says Hunt, “Now the comments from the team are that they wish they had 10 more co-workers like Tim.”
You can read the full article and learn more about hiring inclusive, and all the benefits to your business, by clicking here.
