BENGALURU: Recognising the untapped skills of persons with disabilities, many companies are now coming forward to hire them for better results. According to a recent survey conducted by Genus Consultants, almost 42 per cent of corporates in Bengaluru believe that inclusion of specially-abled candidates will open gates to explore this workforce, while 57.24 per cent respondents said they are ready to invest in making workplaces comfortable for specially-abled employees.
The study, conducted in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, showed that multinational companies in IT/ IT-enabled services and retails are adapting to the changes in society. “Recruitment process is underway for differently-abled people and we hope to work with more such candidates across various roles by the end of the year,” Aashima Jain, project lead at Ekartians with Different Abilities initiative (eDAB), Bengaluru, said. The organisation is collaborating with sign language interpreters and non-profit organisations working in this space. “For instance, delivery executives will have SOS-enabled smartphones, along with special badges and flash cards to communicate with customers, while individuals on the warehouse floor will be identified with black and grey striped jackets as a security measure,” she added.
The study also highlighted that white-collar employees are more willing to accept this change. “If the candidates fit into the given criteria, we hire them irrespective of the fact that they are specially-abled or not,” Nilanjana Sengupta, HR business partner at a multinational industrial manufacturing company in the city, said, adding, “As far as the infrastructure goes, we have a specialised bathroom, and our building is designed so that they do not face any problem during movement.”
However, 61.7 per cent corporate companies think that due to the biased attitude of co-workers, the number of specially-abled employees has been less in this sector. “We are getting better opportunities like education, living facilities and jobs, as compared to the older generation,” Praveen Ojha (name changed), a 25-year-old employee at a retail shop who happens to be hearing-impaired, told CE. “We enjoy our work. When people come to our store, they stare at us differently, which we don’t like,” he pointed out.
Though the trend is positive, the pace is slow. The survey aims to eliminate misconceptions in the society about specially-abled people and promote diversity inclusion at workplaces, R P Yadav, CMD, Genius Consultants, said. “People must be educated to understand that often, such a person can perform other functions quite efficiently,” he added.