Attracting and hiring a diverse workforce, including people with disability, in a fair and inclusive way, is not only a social responsibility but also a smart business decision for tourism businesses.

Here are some tangible examples of how you can implement a more inclusive recruitment and onboarding process:

Assessing role suitability:

• Consider remote work or flexible hours to broaden your talent pool.
• Evaluate how the role can be adapted for people with disability
• Reach out to a CPL’s Employment support experts for advice on role design and advice on things like incentives and wages subsidies

Preparing position descriptions:

• Use clear language focused on tasks and outcomes, rather than fixed physical requirements.
• Avoid jargon and technical terms that may exclude candidates with disability.
• Ensure that materials are provided as a word document (not PDFs) to ensure screen reader accessibility

Going to market:

• Partner with disability employment services to connect with job seekers with disability.
• Organisations like Mylestones take the work and cost out of recruiting for your business:
  • Candidate screening
  • Shortlisting and coordination of interviews
  • Work experience and work trials
  • Inducting the successful candidate into the role
  • Education and training for employees
  • Supporting your new employee on-the-job
  • Advice on accessing financial incentives, wage subsidies and workplace modifications

Interviewing and engaging people with disability:

• Clearly state in job postings that you welcome accommodations and ask prospective candidates about their needs.
• Offer a variety of interview formats (e.g., remote, in-person, or video) to accommodate different abilities.
• Onboarding process:
• Dedicate a section in your onboarding materials to inclusion and accessibility resources available to employees.
• Provide training on inclusive practices to all employees, especially managers and supervisors. It is important that the manager understands which specific adjustments the employee requires, and how to implement these.
• Create an inclusive work culture where employees feel supported and valued, whether they are disabled or non-disabled.
• Tap into support offered by organisations such as Mylestones like on-the-job training, modifications to the workplace, provide a welcoming environment for your new employee through training for your wider team focused on accessibility and inclusion.