The co-founder of Go-Be needed help to pack and fulfill orders and looked no further than her son, Jake, who is on the spectrum.
Finding a job is difficult for someone with a disability. More than half of young adults with disabilities are out of work. According to a recent report, up to 85% of people on the autism spectrum are unemployed, three times the rate for people with a disability. There are a wide range of conditions that are covered by the umbrella term "neurodiversity". There is a lot of labor market potential with one in 45 adults on the spectrum.
This is a big data point for employers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 13 states have unemployment rates below 3%, while half of the U.S. states have unemployment rates below pre-pandemic levels. Employers are struggling to fill open positions and are more willing to look at previously overlooked segments of the population.
John Dooney is an HR advisor at the Society for Human Resource Management.
Carlos Cubia, global chief diversity officer at Walgreens, said that everyone is struggling to find talent in the marketplace. There are people with disabilities. It's an undiscovered resource that businesses can use.
Accommodated conditions are one of the stumbling blocks that employers have to contend with when hiring neurodiverse individuals. Accommodations need to vary broadly since they encompass a broad range of conditions. Someone who is sensitive to loud noises may need headphones. Some people with severe dyslexia may benefit from signs that include pictures or are color-coded.
The Walgreens Transition Work Group program has placed 1,000 people at the company's distribution centers. The 13-week training program includes classroom and on-the-job training that teaches how to pull and pack orders from the distribution center to stores.
The individuals who come through the 13-week program are paid at the same rate as someone without a disability, they have the same expectations in terms of job performance, and are treated just like a normal employee within the workforce. Cubia said that they don't cut corners to say where you know, your productivity can be less, your expectations or less.
The company has a similar program for its retail stores. The Retail Employees with Disabilities train employees with disabilities to work as cashiers, greet customers, or stock shelves. To keep the program running, Walgreen's HR department and distribution center leadership work with local community organizations as well as state and local social service agencies to find and screen candidates.
Ensuring success can be helped by job coaching. Wawa, which operates a chain of convenience stores and gas stations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and three other states, breaks up tasks for employees with different abilities. Food preparation, cleaning, and customer service are some of the responsibilities typical employees have. A job coach, employed by a coaching organization, not Wawa, will help determine the right scope of tasks for the individual, which can vary depending on their abilities and desires.
Two years ago, Hannah, who has Down syndrome, worked with a job coach to ensure she was performing tasks efficiently and effectively, according to Jay Culotta, the president of The Wawa Foundation.
Wawa has worked for over 40 years with a New Jersey company. Ari Shiner was hired by a store manager in 1981 and the partnership began. Wawa works with more than 200 different organizations. Wawa has about 30 employees who have been with the company for at least 20 years, including Shiner.
Some individuals may need more accommodations, but most do not.
The accommodations that are typically needed are not enormous, according to Dan Roth, a technical recruiter for Amazon who is also considered neurodiverse.
At Go-Be, which employs four individuals with different levels of intelligence, Quinn breaks down tasks to best suit them. She said that another member enjoys rolling and folding the sleeves and that it is almost therapeutic for him.
Cornelia Quinn, co-founder of Go-Be, and her son Jake, who has autism. She says of employing her son and other neurodiverse workers, the goal is to have them “feel that when they wake up in the morning, they have something to look forward to, and just feel that they’re part of society and that they’re contributing.”Recruiters and companies that have gone through the process say that there is a payoff, even if there is some accommodation and investment needed.
Cubia said that these individuals are very reliable, very good from a productivity standpoint, and they are very methodical and deliberate about how they do their job.
The attrition rate for individuals who go through Walgreen's TWG program is 25% lower than the norm. Cubia said that it costs less to retain an employee than it does to acquire one. He said it helps you save money.
The IRS offers tax credits and incentives to companies that hire disabled individuals. The cost of accommodations are offset by some of the incentives.
Wawa's payoff is not tied to performance metrics or profit margins.
Some associates in this program are just as efficient and productive as our typical associates. We have some that aren't in the cards, but that's okay. Dave Simonetti, senior director for store operations at Wawa, said that there are other things that can be brought to the table.
The associates working with them feel that the community really embraces this program. Customer service is a huge opportunity in our industry. This is a big positive for customer interaction. He said it was a different set of metrics.
500 of Wawa's 47,000 employees are neurodiverse.
While companies such as IBM, Ford, and others have shifted their corporate HR practices to bring on more neurodiverse individuals for coding or other technical jobs, efforts to hire neurodiverse individuals for fulfillment, distribution or retail jobs are more scattered. The perception is that people with disabilities can't keep up with the pace of the business.
Depending on the company, the store and the store manager, opportunities for neurodiverse individuals can vary. She mentioned placing people at Walmart and Lowe's. Some store managers are very familiar with the process and others are not.
Jimmy Carter said that Walmart doesn't have a specific program for hiring people with different abilities.
With greater awareness, more individuals with different abilities will find employment. The current high rate of unemployment is alarming. She wants to get the community involved.
Those are all great opportunities to help them have a purpose, and that they feel like they are part of society when they wake up.
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