Solve your Labor Issues with Goodwill's Career Solutions
Dive into an untapped labor pool to find loyal, dependable workers
By Betty Johnson, SPHR, Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee

As many businesses face a shrinking workforce, sourcing other options may keep you ahead of the game. Employing people with disabilities can be the economic advantage.

The Department of Labor Statistics estimates that between 2002 and 2012, 35 million people will leave their occupations and need to be replaced. Often overlooked, people with disabilities may finally find their niche in the competitive labor market.

Many people with disabilities want to and need to work, but just aren't given the chance. Some people become disabled later in life through a medical condition or an accident. This fact is largely unknown by most employers. "These people bring businesses experience and maturity as they re-enter the workforce," said Matt Gloster, senior director of Goodwill's Career Solutions. Career Solutions specifically focuses on training and helping people with disabilities and people with other barriers find employment.

One way is through its new Transitional Services Program. The program hires people with disabilities to train in a real work environment at one of Goodwill's stores, office locations or donation sites. While the person is learning job skills, he also earns a paycheck. Once a certain productivity level is reached, that person can then be hired at Goodwill or can work with a Goodwill career counselor to find a job elsewhere in the community.

In fact, many Nashville-area businesses, such as SunTrust Bank, IHOP, Manpower and Marriott, have found an unusually loyal population by focusing recruitment on people with disabilities. Marriott's "Pathways to Independence" program reports a 6 percent turnover among employees with disabilities, versus 52 percent total workforce turnover.

Along with increasing revenue, saving money tops many CEOs' and business owners' agendas. Costly high turnover churns money back into re-training rather than profit. Some human resource experts estimate the cost of a turnover from 93 to 200 percent of that employee's annual salary. Ouch!

Breathing new life into your business' recruitment by opening the door to people with disabilities makes business sense.

To learn more about recruiting and hiring people with disabilities, contact Betty Johnson, SPHR, at Goodwill Career Solutions at 615-346-1238, or bettyj@goodwillmidten.org.