Leadership commitment is key to scaling disability inclusion

Microsoft

YEONG Zhi Wei's main mode of communication with his colleagues is writing and typing. The Associate Cybersecurity Specialist at GovTech Singapore was born deaf, and used his disability as an impetus to help others in the same situation.

Hence, VoiceEars, an app that converts written texts into verbal speech, came into fruition.

Mr Yeong, who was an intern with Microsoft, said: "I developed the app during my internship with them to facilitate multi-way communication with a group of hearing peers. I thought to myself, 'Why wait for someone to build the app I need, if I can learn and build one and empower myself right away?'"

Microsoft is SG Enable's employer partner for its internship programme for students with disabilities.

Mr Yeong's creation inspired Microsoft to work closely with SG Enable to create a bigger impact at scale for persons with disabilities in Singapore.

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Lee Hui Li, Managing Director, Microsoft Singapore, said: "We believe that accessible technology is a fundamental building block that can unlock opportunities in every part of society. We can do this by ensuring that Microsoft's own products are accessible by design, so that as we advance our features and functionality, we can help everyone be independent and involved in our community and society...

"Hence, we need to attract more people with disabilities to play a bigger role in developing the next generation of accessible technology."

She added that having good leadership is crucial in the implementation and execution of such projects.

"At Microsoft, we have accelerated our culture of accessibility by creating innovative solutions, growing the employee community, and partnering with private and public sector organisations to create new opportunities for the many talented persons with disabilities."

Ku Geok Boon, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SG Enable, said: "Organisational leadership is critical in driving an inclusive culture as it shapes and communicates organisational beliefs, expectations and commitment. Setting out a clear mandate on disability inclusion strategies and goals helps to create a supportive and inclusive workplace. When businesses embody disability-inclusive values, it can attract like-minded individuals to be part of the forward-looking organisation."

To take things one step further, the Microsoft APAC Enabler Program was created in 2020 to provide a comprehensive accessibility model to improve the inclusion of people with disabilities across Asia-Pacific, and connect with local talent from under-represented communities.

This programme would help promote disability inclusion to the wider community and other relevant stakeholders.

Empowerment for all

Ms Ku said: "As the local non-profit partner for the Microsoft APAC Enabler Program, we support Microsoft and its commercial partners in identifying and providing work opportunities for persons with disabilities. SG Enable provides education and training to Microsoft's local employer partners to work with persons with disabilities, and help match them to suitable employers."

Ms Lee said: "By empowering persons with disabilities, disability-inclusive employment can lead to a 17 per cent rise in gross domestic product in Asia-Pacific through increased economic productivity."

The initiative involves various parties as Microsoft provides online training in areas such as data engineering and programming, and counts 14 companies as its partners. They include NTT Data, Crayon and Empauwer, all of whom have been accredited with the Enabling Mark (Silver) by SG Enable.

"We are always open to nurturing a robust ecosystem of partnerships across the private and public sector, and are keen to work with them on advancing their disability programmes so we can expand our network to collectively work towards an inclusive future for every person," said Ms Lee.

Ms Ku added: "Building an inclusive society is at the heart of what we do in SG Enable. We believe persons with disabilities are integral members of society and, when provided with suitable job accommodations, they can thrive and succeed at work. To achieve this end-goal, partnerships are key. It takes a collective approach to start and sustain disability-inclusive hiring so we can better integrate persons with disabilities in the workplace and provide them with the dignity of work."

UOB

HUGE volumes of paper-based applications had to be digitised and archived daily at UOB's Scan Hub department, back in 2012. The workload, compounded by a high turnover rate of 50 per cent, meant that UOB faced challenges in maintaining customer service standards due to quality consistency issues and increased business costs.

To resolve the situation, the bank looked into the possibility of tapping a new talent pool, and found matching skill sets - which include a sharp eye for detail and high levels of concentration - in persons with autism.

Thus began a long-term hiring relationship with the Autism Resource Centre (ARC) to supplement the overall workforce.

Today, 35 per cent of staff members at UOB Scan Hub have disabilities. Productivity has trended at over 100 per cent for the last few years and the attrition rate for this highly engaged workforce has dropped from over 50 per cent to under 5 per cent.

Ku Geok Boon, SG Enable's Chief Executive Officer, said: "Embracing disability inclusion will help companies, big and small, to build enduring and resilient businesses. Companies can diversify their talent pool and build teams that leverage different strengths."

Building on its experience in hiring employees with autism, UOB Scan Hub expanded its diverse hiring to include deaf persons, supported by SPD.

Embracing diversity

In light of the positive response received within its own company at hiring persons with disabilities, the financial institution wanted to understand the readiness of other firms to hire them and commissioned a study in 2019.

This led to a finding that 93 per cent of 220 business leaders surveyed would hire persons with disabilities if they knew how to go about it.

Hence, The Unlimited was formed in 2019. It is a programme by UOB that encourages companies to employ persons with disabilities.

The initiative is sponsored by Wee Ee Cheong, Deputy Chairman and Group CEO of UOB, who said: "We have always believed in the value of diversity, whether in business or the community. By embracing diversity, we can bring out the best in each person and achieve more together in the long run. Persons with disabilities want and are able to contribute to the economic and social development of our community. Through The Unlimited, we encourage companies to tap these talents to build a stable workforce."

Through the programme, 162 companies were engaged, and 22 of these companies further expressed their interest in employing persons with disabilities. In particular, the bank's pilot clients - Thong Siek Food Industry, The Ritz-Carlton and Burnt Ends - have hired 7 persons with disabilities in total, who are still with their respective companies today and have fully assimilated into their respective teams.

Partnering UOB in The Unlimited, Ms Ku said: "Such industry leadership promotes disability inclusion and practices to the wider community and other relevant stakeholders, which is vital in moving the needle."

Coming out of the pandemic, one of the challenges confronting businesses today is manpower.

Frederick Chin, Managing Director and Head of Group Wholesale Banking and Markets, UOB, said: "We encourage business leaders across Singapore to advocate inclusive hiring. From our experience at UOB Scan Hub, we discovered that when individuals are placed into roles that match their abilities, they are productive, committed and bring a positive influence to the place they work in. As a collective effort amongst companies, inclusive hiring will lead to significant commercial, economic and social benefits."

The bank was accredited with the Enabling Mark (Platinum) in 2021. For the disability-inclusive hiring efforts by Thong Siek, they were accredited with the Enabling Mark (Silver).

Ms Ku said: "Over the years, we have seen a steady increase in the number of organisations hiring persons with disabilities. We see more employers wanting to do more as the disability-inclusive hiring landscape becomes more mature. We hope the Enabling Mark, which is both an accreditation and learning framework, will support employers on their inclusive hiring journey."

Human Capital Singapore

HARNESSING the power of many has been the mission of Human Capital Singapore (HCS) - especially when it comes to promoting disability inclusion in the workplace.

With such a conviction, the company - which is known in the area of human resource (HR) and management training - announced the HR Powerbank initiative in 2021.

Launched by President Halimah Yacob, the initiative adopts a Train-and-Place model and is a provider of shared HR services.

Ho Geok Choo, CEO of HCS, said: "Since then, we have 28 persons with disabilities pursuing the HR Professional Skills Qualification ... Upon their graduation, they will be recognised as HR Administrators."

Ms Ho also likened the journey of HR Powerbank to that of a roller coaster ride, which was peppered with challenges of products, market and resources.

"HR Powerbank as a service provider has to render competitive and quality HR outsourcing services. The early adopting companies play a critical role in championing the cause of employability and employment in persons with disabilities. As a surrogate employer, HR Powerbank works closely with champion stakeholders like SG Enable, UOB and Justlogin who believe in our mission."

HR Powerbank's mantra is to enable persons with disabilities to serve with dignity because they are capable of providing quality HR services to raise the bar of HR in the future economy, and the spirit of inclusive hiring has flowed through not only its staff, but also partners it works with, said Ms Ho.

Ku Geok Boon, CEO of SG Enable, said: "We are grateful that our partners - which include Human Capital Singapore - have committed leadership and resources to help accelerate growth in disability inclusion. When industry leaders take the lead and pave the way in disability inclusion, it creates a multiplier effect that encourages others to do the same."

HCS' path towards upskilling, training and placing persons with disabilities into companies started in 2018 with its HR Career Accelerator Programme.

Ms Ho said: "As we progressed, we naturally put forward the idea that instead of just placing persons with disabilities into other companies, we could add value by taking on the role of a surrogate employer, providing hands-on training and directly employing these special and diverse talents under HR Powerbank to deliver recruitment, outsourcing and consultancy services to other companies. By doing so, we empower persons with disabilities to achieve their fullest potential at the workplace."

Despite the recognition that the initiative has received, there were a few initial bumps along the way.

"We do face challenges and the first of many is: How should HR Powerbank be positioned? As a full social enterprise? There already are many such entities in the marketplace. And how will this be sustainable?

"Eventually, together with our strategic partners, we came to the consensus that HR Powerbank is in alignment with HCS' mission to encourage diverse and inclusive hiring through practices for competitive business advantage."

Ms Ho mentioned that this is made possible by leadership commitment within the company in advocating for persons with disabilities, which has also shaped its programmes and policies.

"HCS, as an advocate of disability-inclusive hiring, has taken considerable steps to normalise diversity and inclusion. In fact, HR Powerbank has been provided resources by HCS to kick-start the planning and operations of initiatives and programmes."

HR Powerbank is also en route to onboarding 10 Early Adopters, which include Singapore International Foundation - an Enabling Mark (Silver) recipient - ST Engineering e-Services, Dow Jones, and SG Enable.

Tackling challenges

When asked about a common misconception about hiring persons with disabilities, Ms Ho said it would be employers feeling daunted by the challenges of accommodating persons with disabilities at the workplace.

"In reality, with proper planning and knowledge, most workplace accommodations are reasonably simple to be implemented. Yes, accommodations such as ramps, automated doors and wheelchair accessible walkways may be required, and these may lead to additional costs. By doing so, however, all employees and visitors benefit from a more friendly work environment."

Beyond making physical modifications to the workplace, job redesign restructures elements such as tasks, duties and responsibilities of a specific role which leads to talent optimisation.

All in, "we would like to see both persons with disabilities being better equipped with skills prior to and during employment, and employers creating more meaningful employment outcomes for them. Employers should also give persons with disabilities the same level of opportunities that they give to others."

Ms Ku said: "We hope to have more companies building the 'heartware' of a disability-inclusive workplace - which is a ready and willing mindset to hire and develop employees with disabilities. More importantly, we need more companies and society to recognise and appreciate persons with disabilities as a talent pool. When we focus on abilities and adopt a strength-based approach, we can unlock the potential of persons with disabilities to make strong contributions at work...

"Ultimately, we hope to see a disability-inclusive hiring landscape where business leaders are committed to the cause, put in place fair and equitable recruitment and employment policies, provide accessible workplaces with reasonable job accommodations, and be advocates of disability inclusion to the wider community."

This is part 2 of 6 in a quarterly series about disability-inclusive employment. Watch out for the next article in The Straits Times in August 2022.