SPEAKING WITH EMPLOYERS

The time constraints of the project did not allow for the collection of interview data from a large sample of employers. We had two opportunities to interview local employers to verify and gather information; one was to interview representatives of local businesses that were considered by a conference organizing committee to be inclusive employers in Kings County and the other was to speak with three employers using an in depth qualitative interview.

Pathways to Work researchers attended the 2010 Tools for Life conference in October to interview inclusive employers.

The goals of the Tools for Life Conference are to provide opportunities for people with and without disabilities to learn about how to improve their quality of life, to provide opportunities for lifelong learning, and, to provide information for finding and retaining employment to people of all ages and abilities. The conference brings together a wide range of community resources. Presenters and exhibitors representing 140 local and provincial organizations attended the conference. The conference had an exhibitors’ section for employers who were recruited by the conference organizers because they were considered inclusive employers. Pathways to Work researchers obtained information from these employers using a survey.

The survey was intended to provide insight into what employers who are considered inclusive employers in Kings County are doing to recruit local workers. The survey was limited to six questions and was administered by both researchers. The questions explored:

1. Flexibility in hiring process
2. Recruitment areas
3. Whether formal policies exist for accommodation of those with challenges and disabilities
4. Involvement in wage subsidy programs
5. Transportation restrictions
6. Willingness to training on the job

All the questions were either simple yes or no questions or offered a check list of items that the employer could choose from. However, the majority of information that was provided by the employers was anecdotal and gave more insight into the why, how and where of hiring and retention practices. In total 15 employers were surveyed. The range of employers was broad; food service, transportation, manufacturing and processing, information technology and human services.

1. FLEXIBILITY IN HIRING PROCESS

Many Discouraged Job Seekers we spoke to indicated that the way the job hiring process is done limits their ability to get work (see chapter on Recruitment Practices). We asked whether the employers were flexible in how they assessed job applicants. Only two employers indicated that they were not open to flexible hiring options. A call centre stated that if a person did not pass their entrance test they would not be considered. However, they did indicate that this was the only requirement to getting a job, leaving the door open to many candidates. A Long Term Care facility required the Continuing Care Assistant credential because of legislation. Three of the employers indicated that they work with Employment Services organizations to help bridge the gap between them and potential employees. The rest of the employers simply indicated that they were flexible or that they had an internal employment readiness test that broke the job requirements into essential skill areas.

2. RECRUITMENT AREAS

We wanted to understand whether the employers at the conference actively engaged in recruiting from under-represented groups, marginalized groups or people in receipt of government benefits.

The responses were varied and did not follow a specific pattern. Overall the groups that appeared to be less acceptable to the employers surveyed are those with criminal records or those who have a mental illness.

3. POLICIES ON ACCOMODATIONS

We wanted to understand how employers were internally managing the inclusion of employees with challenges and disabilities in their work force. We decided the simplest way to ask this was to ask whether they had any specific policies in place that would indicate the recognition of the issue and a commitment to address it. We also asked each employer whether they had policies in place to accommodate job applicants with challenges or disabilities.

• Twelve of the employers had some sort of policy on accommodation and hiring of people with disabilities.
• Six of the employers surveyed had formal policies to accommodate employees with disabilities.
• Seven of the employers indicated that they had informal policies that were simply part of the company’s way of doing things and for many reasons were not codified. An example was that due to their size (60 employees) a processing company’s management is regularly interacting with employees. They felt that they are able to address concerns as they arise.

4. WAGE SUBSIDY PROGRAMS                                                   

Wage subsidies have been presented as an option for people with a lack of experience or who may not be able to compete in the job market to gain valuable experience and work skills.

• 40% (6) of the employers at the conference had experience with a wage subsidy program.
• Of those involved, all rated the program well with giving the program the highest rating on our scale.
• One respondent indicated that the program they participated in was too short as the amount of training required to fully prepare a person for work in their business required more than the 3 months allotted in the program.

5. TRANSPORTATION RESTRICTIONS                                              

An issue in any rural or semi-rural area is transportation. As public transit is usually not feasible or too costly to cover the needs of all residents many rely on private vehicles in Kings County. The employers in the group surveyed are located in a variety of areas, like the semi-rural areas of New Minas and Kentville and the more rural area of Waterville: consequently we felt they would provide insight into attitudes around transportation.

• All employers, but two, indicated that access to a private vehicle was not essential to gaining employment. The exceptions were due to the nature of the job: the employee is expected to visit clients in their homes.
• Two employers indicated that they have informal car pooling occurring at their businesses and that this is reducing transportation costs for some.

6. WILLINGNESS TO TRAIN ON THE JOB                                                           

All employers surveyed except two personal care providers indicated that they would be willing to engage in on-the-job training should someone not have the necessary skills prior to being hired. Training on the job was a mandatory part of the hiring process for several of the employers surveyed.

We were pleased that we were able to ask representatives of local businesses pertinent questions related to the project, in particular allowing us to take the time to explore barriers to employment in depth. It was a positive sign that many employers were flexible regarding hiring practices. The option of training on the job, and lack of credentialism indicated that some of the barriers identified by the participants we spoke to are not standard for all employers in Kings County.

Central to any discussion around employment is the employer. Throughout the course of our research the topics of how employers made hiring decisions, unfair hiring practices, inflexibility, and the way employers had shut doors on our participants were repeatedly mentioned. We also heard about really great employers. We concluded that speaking to employers about the barriers that our participants were identifying would be useful in checking the veracity of their perceptions.

We were able to speak in depth to three employers; two employers were known to one of the researchers and the other was recommended to the researchers.

The qualitative format of the interview allowed the employers to explain how they saw the job seeking process. These types of insights would be valuable to Discouraged Job Seekers who participated in the research.

  The interesting feature of the employers’ responses was that despite the different sectors they worked in, the different sizes of their businesses and the different job profiles of each business, there was a lot of agreement amongst them. For example what kind of employees they were looking for and an ability to be flexible in hiring; both were counter to what many of our participants took for granted. These responses are discussed briefly below some in bullet point and others with quotations taken from the interviews.

WHAT EMPLOYERS ARE LOOKING FOR IN AN EMPLOYEE

We had heard a wide variety of opinions about what employers were looking for from participants and Employment Services staff. We asked each employer about what they were looking for in an employee. In some cases this was in the context of what they felt was missing from the applicants they were seeing.

COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE

To all three employers good communication in the workplace was an important factor in success. The three employers spoke about the importance of communicating how the work itself was carried out and about how the workload was managed. Being aware of employees’ difficulties at work was a major concern for employers.

An employee’s ability and desire to communicate and interact with the employer and co-workers was seen as a key determinant in how the employee would be viewed in periods of potential layoffs. .

Adam: If you have a question you have to be able to come to the employer and ask, ‘Why is this like this?’ You have to have the ability to ask those questions. It appears to be a major problem for many people. Sometimes it’s because they just don’t care but sometimes it’s because they can’t work up the courage to talk to me. That is a major problem.

Adam: Participating in the workplace is important. I have gotten a few people who just don’t try to be part of the workplace. Even if someone is not working as fast as others but they are expressing interest in the work then if a layoff has to happen it will be the individual who has just not tried to be a part of the team rather than the person who is engaged in the work. This is always the case unless productivity levels are very different for the two people, more than 25%.

Due to the nature of the work Beth was involved in she emphasized the importance of being able to learn about a person before and throughout their employment. Getting to know the personality of the employee was central to success.

Beth: I have to feel comfortable with the person. Not just with me here in the office, I have to feel comfortable leaving them with my mother. Because that’s what I am doing, I am sending these people to look after other people's mothers.

RESUMES AND INTERVIEWS

A central barrier participants in the Pathways to Work Research Project identified was that of resumes and interviews, i.e., how to get an employer to consider them and how to interview successfully. The three employers we spoke to emphasized the importance of ensuring an applicant’s resume provided enough information to make an educated guess about them. Leaving things left unsaid or having a generic approach was not seen as an effective way to market your self.

One of the barriers that participants indentified was the problem of having a gap in their resume or work history. Many felt this had caused employers to reject them. Beth in a way verified this but also noted that applicants can at least try to address this barrier directly and can potentially persuade the employer to consider them for a position.

Beth: When there are two applicants and one has gaps in their resume and the other doesn’t, I am likely to go with the one without gaps – but the cover letter is where people have the opportunity to explain their strengths and why they may have a gap. The employer doesn’t really have time to go around making the connections for people.

One of the points Adam made about resumes was his interest in seeing that the person applying had put time and effort into the application process. Adam was also adamant that people who may have gaps in their resume, for whatever reason, should speak to that gap rather than attempt to cover it up.

Adam: I’d rather see a resume that had mistakes that I knew the person did themselves than one that someone did for them... It’s good to have information about what you have been doing if there are things in the resume that may not be ideal, like a gap in employment. It’s better to not force me to draw conclusions about why they are there.

Clyde also felt that resumes that are unclear or attempt to misrepresent are doing more harm to the applicant than they may think.

Clyde: I have gotten resumes that list achievements, most of the time it’s a smoke screen. I don’t know how good those are because I have no idea how accurate they are. I can’t prove a lot of them if I call the employer. So I don’t look at them.

Clyde went on to make a few suggestions about how to ensure an applicant’s resume and the applicant are given serious consideration for a position.

Clyde: What I always tell people is don’t just drop your resume and run. Always follow up – call and ask if there are jobs coming up soon. They should talk to the Manager or the Human Resources person. They should always follow up. If you just go around following up resumes well ….. you should always understand how they hire people, what is it based on. Go sit on the doorstep; be ready to start right away.

In terms of job interviews all the employers suggested that the interview process is important in determining whether someone will fit the business. Primarily they look for a person to be willing to disclose any challenge or disability they may have that may affect their work, as it is better to deal with those up front, and if possible set up the appropriate accommodation.

WORKPLACE ACCOMODATIONS

For Beth, job carving was a central component to her work. Each potential employee was looked at individually, and while there were some baseline criteria, such as first aid training, each person was given work that they could complete according to abilities but also what would be comfortable for them personally. Personality matches were just as, if not more important than scheduling or skills. She found ways to get around low literacy issues, such as having staff call in the daily reports about clients to the office rather than write them out.

Beth: I wouldn’t put someone who has literacy issues with an aging professor, I want the employee to feel comfortable and be able to talk to the clients.

Beth also recognized that even though people may have challenges or disabilities, these things do not necessarily preclude them from work.

Beth: People who have made it to middle age with learning disabilities have usually developed coping mechanisms for work. Generally the focus is on drawing out people's strengths rather than dwelling on what they cannot do, and then matching that to a client whose needs match those strengths.

Adam spoke about not needing someone with all the skills for the job upon hiring. He felt that if people were capable and willing to learn they could be taught all they need to know to do the job well. Adam has worked with a number of people who have challenges or disabilities. Nearly all had not worked out in the long run. He felt this was not due directly to their challenges or disabilities but by their attempts to hide them.

Adam: We have had people who have literacy problems but if you are aware of them you can deal with them.

Clyde during our interview was the most outspoken about the need to accommodate people with challenges or disabilities in the workplace.

Clyde: If people don’t figure out how to work with these people with challenges they are always going to suffer this shortage of staff.

However, he was also very clear that there were limited options for people who faced significant physical and health challenges in the agriculture industry. Due to the nature of the work and the importance of getting things done quickly and efficiently there was limited flexibility in what an agricultural employer could offer. However, he did see flexibility in regard to work sharing. The caveat being that he had to rely on a worker being present when needed.

Clyde: If I can know that someone can be in a job I don’t care if it’s one person on one day and another the next. As long as I can know someone will be there.

SUMMARY                                                                                                                   

The qualitative format of the interview allowed the employers to explain how they saw the job seeking process. The discussions with the three employers were informative and verified some of the barriers that participants identified during the research project. The perspectives of these three employers may not be representative of most employers in Kings County, but the openness to hiring people with different skills, challenges and disabilities in a flexible way is encouraging.

The information and insights we received from these two employer contacts would be valuable to Discouraged Job Seeker. Any efforts to encourage Discouraged Job Seekers in Kings County must include the most recent labour market information.