Today, we're celebrating members who have reached 5 years of being Disability Confident Recruiters.
The Disability Confident Recruiter Program helps organisations ensure their recruitment practices are inclusive of people with disability by providing guidance and support to remove any unintended barriers. The program also provides organisations a platform to showcase their dedication to accessible practice.
This is a significant commitment. Organisations have altered the way they approach recruitment, have changed their workplace recruitment culture and frequently reassessed their approach to ensure they deliver an inclusive and accessible experience for all candidates. These organisations are leading the way for accessible recruitment practices in businesses in Australia.
Today, we're looking at how pioneers of the program successfully implemented the program in their workplace, utilised the knowledge gained and how their recruitment practices truly reflect the title of being a Disability Confident Recruiter.
Congratulations to DFP Recruitment (DFP), NSW's Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) for their leadership and dedication to inclusive and accessible recruitment for all candidates over the past five years.
Building on the pillars of commitment
"We are so pleased to partner with AND to achieve this milestone and we are committed to supporting our clients in meeting their diversity and inclusion objectives and to aiding and optimising the candidate experience." – Angela Sergi, DFP Recruitment
Every organisation is at a different stage of their journey in pursuit of barrier free recruitment and selection. For DFP and DCJ, having dedicated champions and sponsors provided a foundation for the DCR program to thrive.
DFP, the first member ever to achieve DCR status in our network, were able to complete the program in eight months. They credit this achievement in part to their Executive champion.
"It has been incredibly important – and in fact essential – to have a respected Executive in the organisation champion DCR and diversity more generally. The fact that people, systems and process changes are needed across all parts of the business requires senior level oversight as so many things compete for prioritisation." – Athena Iliades, DFP Recruitment
For DFP, the DCR integrated seamlessly into their pre-existing company values.
Similarly, the DCR program allowed NSW's Department of Communities and Justice, the first government organisation to be achieve the status, to promote their Employee Value Proposition as an employer that values diversity, inclusion and equity to all candidates.
To support and uphold the DCR status, DCJ leverage the thought leadership and expertise from both their internal Disability Employee Network (DEN) and engages extensively with AND, ensuring their recruitment practices are accessible and inclusive.
"DCR gives both staff and candidates with disability a voice. The accreditation allows for powerful advocacy that makes a real difference for both DCJ candidates and our colleagues." – Fabian Friedrich, DCJ
DCJ also uses the yearly renewal of the DCR status to measure and improve on their inclusive recruitment practices, critically examining their process on a regular basis to align with their strategic objectives.
DCR's knowledge at work
Sharing knowledge amongst dedication networks is not the only way our celebrated members have made most of the skills and insights developed from the DCR program.
Since 2016, the NDIA has taken a successfully upskilled 590 Agency staff in disability awareness through AND's DCR eLearn.
This ensures that at least one person involved in any recruitment process for NDIA can confidently demonstrate disability awareness, from shortlisting to interviews all the way through to final selection and offer.
For DFP, knowledge from the DCR program instilled confidence throughout their entire recruitment processes. Speaking at the September 2020 Melbourne Roundtable, DFP noted recruitment consultants had become more confident welcoming and supporting people with disability disability and discussing workplace adjustments.
DFP are now well versed in providing adjustments through the recruitment process and onboardingto provide an equitable, fair and provides the right equipment and technologies to facilitate adjustments.
Inclusive Recruitment in Action
While sharing the information and raising awareness of the inclusive practices is crucial in any organisation, our members have also delivered change within their recruitment process, leading to a better candidate experience, widening the talent pool for recruitment and creating a more equitable workforce.
Since achieving the DCR status, DFP have received and managed over 8,000 applications from people who live with disability, have interviewed just over 3,000 and have placed over 700.
"We are proud of the DCR status, it clearly shows we have established processes and procedures in house to ensure best practice is applied for every stage of the recruitment process and it speaks to our market of clients and candidates. It anchors back to our culture and values and has provided an important framework for the importance we place on inclusivity and accessibility for all people." – Angela Sergi, DFP Recruitment
For the NDIA, the impact of inclusive recruitment can be seen within their workforce. The NDIA currently employs 477 Australian Public Service (APS) staff with disability. The NDIA 2019 Census results indicated that they have a workforce (APS and Labour Hire Workers) that successfully represents the community, with 16% of respondents sharing they live with a disability.
They continue to review, examine and adjust their practices to ensure their attraction and recruitment process are actively sourcing talent from a range of diverse parts of the community.
"The NDIA aims to be an accessibility and inclusion world leader in the employment of people with disability. We work hard to attract, recruit and retain people with disability and our primary goal is to be an employer that ensures people with disability are not only able to access secure and sustainable employment opportunities with us, but are also celebrated and respected for the skills and capabilities that they bring to the Agency." – Sarah Lucas, Assistant Director – Recruitment Projects
DCJ notes there has been as shift in the conversations with candidates. There are more instances of adjustments being made to recruitment process, which has allowed the department to better understand the challenges and barriers for people with disability and offer suitable adjustments to ensure the process is equitable.
"To us, the DCR accreditation signifies our continuous effort in recruiting inclusively, building a diverse workforce and eliminating unnecessary barriers for people with disability." - Fabian Friedrich, DCJ
