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Disability
and Employment - Vocational Rehabilitation: Where Partners Create
Careers - Strategies provided on the following topic:
Strategy: Partnering for Success: The Reverse Funnel Approach
Presenters: Dana M. Rosanelli, Director
of Business Development, Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services;
Katherine McCary, Vice President of ACT Program Virginia Business
Leadership Networks – SunTrust Bank; Millie Hewett, District Manager,
Manpower, Inc.
Contact: 8004 Franklin Farms Drive,
Richmond, VA 23229
Phone: (804) 662 7069
Fax: (804) 662 7696
rosanedm@drs.state.va.us
Facilitator: Marian Fuller
The temporary staffing industry provides
a vital link to permanent, full-time employment for people with
disabilities. Today, many businesses are using temporary staffing
agencies, such as Manpower for their hiring needs. A staffing agency
provides the business with a low cost method of hiring, low risk and the
ability to quickly add staff. There are also many advantages for people
with disabilities can gain experience doing a variety of jobs and
working for different employers. They can also try out different jobs at
the same employer and decide if this is really the type of work they
want to do. Also, statistically many temporary positions turn into
permanent employment.
Manpower’s approach to employment is
described as a “reverse funnel”. The traditional process of matching a
worker to a job is akin to placing many candidates in the large end of a
funnel until one emerges as the best match for the job. Manpower’s
reverse funnel approach means that each individual worker enters the
small funnel, completes Manpower’s skills assessment and training
processes, then emerges with the ability to perform and be considered
for many jobs. The reverse funnel screens individuals into a variety of
job opportunities, rather than screening out multiple applicants for a
single job. Manpower, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, annually puts more
than 2 million people to work throughout the world.
Also, Manpower, takes extra steps to
ensure the comfort of applicants with disabilities.
When they know applicants have
disabilities, interviews are arranged with the staffing specialist
before any skill assessments are completed. This lets the staffing
specialist establish rapport so that the applicants can communicate any
concerns or accommodations they may need. Some of the accommodations
readily available in Manpower’s Richmond area offices include
zoom-screen technology and screen reader software to evaluate and train
applicants with vision impairments, sign language translators to
communicate with applicants who are hearing impaired; and
telecommunications devices for the deaf. Manpower is always looking for
applicants who can meet their customer skill needs and an increasing
number are drawn from the population of people with disabilities. Their
entire worker intake process, from interview to skills testing and
training, is designed to identify what people can do or can be trained
to do, and not, what they can’t do.
In Virginia, Manpower and SunTrust Bank
share a commitment to including more people with disabilities in the
work force. One of the world’s largest staffing services and on of the
Nations largest commercial banks sees employing people with disabilities
as not just the right thing to do but also the smart thing to do.
Manpower and SunTrust Bank share the goal of bringing diverse talent,
including people with disabilities into the workforce. When Manpower,
who has provided staffing services to SunTrust Bank in the Richmond,
Virginia area for two decades, wanted to reach out to the untapped
population of people with disabilities, they turned to the Virginia
Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS). Through DR’S Business
Services Program, Business Development Managers provide a variety of
services that assist both Manpower and SunTrust to create a diverse
workforce. The Business Development Managers act as the one point of
contact for the business. They share information and coordinate services
between the business workforce development professionals, counselors,
rehabilitation engineers, evaluators, and other vocational
rehabilitation staff. Businesses benefit from working with the Business
Development Managers in that it assures access to candidates across
programs and localities, while at the same time, streamlines the process
and time commitment for the employer. These two companies have found the
key to reaching their hiring goals and achieving success in a strong
partnership with DRS.
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Strategy :
Transitional Employment: How Local Partners Can All Benefit |