Employment Opportunities

2.1 Introduction

The EU Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has put forward a plan called the Disability Employment Package, which aims to increase the employment opportunities for people with disabilities in the EU. This package focuses on improving job services, promoting inclusive hiring practices, and creating accessible workplaces. Moreover, it highlights the need to identify and manage opportunities within businesses and explore alternative employment models to ensure a fair and inclusive environment for people with disabilities.

2.2 EU Strategy and Disability Employment Package

The Commission has agreed on a plan called the EU Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities from 2021 to 2030. In this plan, there are important activities called “flagship initiatives” to help the rights of people with disabilities in the EU. One of these initiatives is the Disability Employment Package, aiming to make it better for people with disabilities to find jobs. Even though this plan doesn’t make new laws, it suggests things to improve existing laws in six areas. These areas include:

making job services more accessible,
encouraging employers to hire people with disabilities,
providing guidelines for employers to make workplaces suitable,
preventing disabilities from chronic diseases,
giving guidelines for vocational rehab in case of sickness, and
studying better job options for people with disabilities.

Some of these ideas, like guidelines for workplace accommodation and actions to help hiring, could be really useful for creating more inclusive job markets in the EU. But a big challenge is getting enough money and making sure these ideas are followed in each country. It will take a lot of effort to make sure the plan works and brings real changes for people with disabilities.

2.3 Management of Opportunities

2.3.1 Fields and Identification of opportunity

Throughout the project lifecycle or business, opportunities can be identified that lead to significant time and cost savings. However, if these opportunities go undetected, they may be lost completely. Therefore, the management of positive risks should receive considerable attention.

The process of identifying opportunities is not meant to reveal every possible fortunate incident that could happen. Instead, it concentrates on identifying major events with a realistic likelihood of happening, including those with a reduced probability of incidence.

There are three different and independent ways for opportunity identification:

Moreover, a pertinent question to consider now is, “What changes and potential opportunities exist?” We can measure the importance of an opportunity to the company by assessing its significance and the likelihood of it happening. Similar to the previous risk register, it’s crucial to create a register specifically for positive risks.

This register should encompass details like the number of opportunities, their causes, the category of positive risks, and the dates they were identified and addressed. Keeping a thorough record of positive opportunities in our document ensures readiness for any situation and equips us for similar events in the future.

The same pattern will be followed as in Risk Identification. The opportunities also can be called as positive risks, in order these to be found in a particular business field, some techniques can be used:

Brainstorming
SWOT Analysis
Market Needs – Market research
Project Plans
Stakeholder Interviews etc.

For every potential opportunity there is ongoing analysis and management throughout its life-cycle. The following actions are taken:

a) Create a sustainable opportunity capture management plan.

b) Coordination of specific tasks related to opportunity seizing.

c) Implementation and supervision of opportunity seizing activities.

d) Regular reporting on the status of opportunity.

The above examples on the target group of the project are divided into 3 categories of opportunities:

Technological

Hiring disabled individuals can help the business in many different areas. One of them is the technological factor. Bringing a person with a disability into the company pushes management systems and communication channels to open and include technological advances. The company is likely to create, integrate and further improve its hybrid or remote working models and to go a step further in developing its internal systems such as CRM, Intranet and internal websites, G suite, etc.

Environmental

With technological developments, new systems, and remote working, less carbon is released to the environment. Having as a reason the employability of people with diverse abilities, companies are committed and contribute to a certain extent to improve their environmental performance. Based on ISO 14001, the result of the integration of environmental management and strategic plans of the organization concerned is offered and can be achieved.

Market

Gaining access to new markets and broadening the company’s customer base in terms of employability of people with disabilities. The organization can gain knowledge of the needs and preferences of disabled customers and other organizations interested in this sector.

The culture of inclusiveness and disability-friendly policies help to bring together peers and stakeholders that help to develop new partnerships and at the same time contribute to the reputation of the organization as a socially responsible and innovative entity.

In addition to expertise, appropriate infrastructure and a disability-inclusive mentality, a company having acquired new contracts from disabled individuals or aims to achieve it, actively contributes to the functional and healthy role of society, the economy, the environment, and the future of all people.

2.3.2 Opportunity Analysis

Once there is a visible picture of the opportunities that the company can engage in, we choose which ones to reject and which ones to accept. As shown in the table below, depending on how important they are to the business and the impact they have, they can be rejected or accepted.

The step-by-step methodology of opportunity decision making process is:

Chase the opportunity: Continuously monitor market trends, customer needs and business environment changes to identify opportunities. New ideas, technologies and new business models may be closer than you think.
Investigate the opportunity: Evaluating the potential benefits and risks of an opportunity and making informed decisions about pursuing it. It would be more conscious to adapt flexibility and willingness strategies based on market and business needs and dynamics to optimize success.
Decision making:

Decline the opportunity: In this stage we consider that this decision is not beneficial for the company and its targets. We move forward seeking new positive risks.
Accept the opportunity:

After accepting the opportunity some steps must be implemented

Devoting necessary resources, time, and effort to the smooth achievement of the opportunity.
Create a strategic plan that outlines the specific steps, and timelines required to effectively execute the opportunity.
Implementation of the planned plan to turn the opportunity into reality and achieve the desired results.
Continuous monitoring and management of potential risks and challenges that may arise while pursuing the opportunity.

The assessment stage involves quantifying, characterizing, and prioritizing opportunities of the company once they have been identified in the Opportunities Register document, as in the same step of the risk management. The objective is to hierarchize the list of opportunities, highlighting those that demand the highest level of management attention.

In the assessment process, a consistent quantitative assessment is given to the opportunities which have been identified, considering both their likelihood and their consequences.

After identifying opportunities, we prioritize them using a positive risk assessment document. We then update the positive risk register or create one if one does not exist. We develop a table with a traffic light system (using a different color) to assess the positive risk. This approach helps us to provide a visualization of the hierarchy of positive risks. By organizing the register list by the positive risk rating column, we can easily answer questions such as “Which positive risks do we need to address first?” and “Which opportunities will benefit our company the most?”

2.3.3 Opportunity Respond Step

Opportunity analysis includes evaluating various options to respond to detected chances looking at how the outcomes may change depending on the adjustments to the risk factors. Through these analyses, the most crucial factors are identified, providing valuable insights into preferred risk management strategies. There are four techniques or options available for managing risks and opportunities:

Opportunity control or mitigation of risks/opportunities involves actively managing risks to reduce the likelihood of their occurrence or minimize their impact on the organization.
Opportunity avoidance entails eliminating high-risk sources and replacing them with lower-risk solutions.
Opportunity transfer relates to the re-allocation of opportunities from one part of the system to another or the transfer of opportunities to external stakeholders.

Opportunity acceptance or acceptance of the status involves the recognition of the presence of a specific opportunity condition and a conscious decision to accept the relevant level of opportunity without the need for further control attempts.

Regardless of which of the four techniques is chosen, a risk/opportunity management plan is developed that includes the tasks to be performed, a schedule for performing the tasks, the resources required and the total cost. For example:

– Avoidance may identify additional planning tasks to develop lower risk solutions

– Transfer may identify tasks to restructure procurement plans and related contracts.

– Control/reduction identifies proactive tasks to increase the opportunity Probability and/or Benefits

– The acceptance may identify actions to be taken if the risk/opportunity materializes

2.3.4 Evaluation of Opportunity Step

To evaluate the opportunities management that a company followed, in specific the opportunity of recruitment disabled individuals, the company or the department that manages these situations must reconsider the implemented strategic plan.

In this case on the mentioned opportunity, it must be checked whether the way the company has changed its recruitment model and implemented new standards is properly structured and understood by the rest of the workforce.

Several opportunity evaluation methods can contribute to the assessment of this undertaking. Some of them are:

Management by Objective
Critical Incident Method
Self-Evaluation
Ratings scale
Performance Test

Once the weaknesses of the strategic goal achievements are identified, then it would be good to record them on the opportunity document, which includes the categories, dates, management methods, application areas and people who will follow or contribute to this effort.

This will make it easier for opportunity managers to oversee and implement new methods and ways of dealing with risks, but also to handle similar situations that may arise in the future.

For this target group and goal of this document we are going to set an example for one of the above evaluating methods. The method presented is the Management by Objectives, which refers in the human factor of the company as the project’s target by hiring disabled individuals.

Management by Objectives as an Evaluation Method

Management by objectives (MBO) is an approach to people management that includes collaborative goal setting, recording, and monitoring among managers and employees within a specific time scale. This technique helps ensure that organizational goals and plans are communicated by top-level management and trickle down through the organization, while finally translating into individual goals for all members of the organization.

Performance evaluation: During this stage, a progress report is made comparing the actual progress in achieving the objectives set and the pre-defined targets. This evaluation helps to track the organization’s attempts to promote diversity and inclusion, helping to ensure that objectives linked to the recruitment and support of people with disabilities are being met.

MBO, when implemented in the recruitment process, intends to increase the general efficiency of the organization by clearly setting measurable targets and results that are agreed both by the management and the employees. This approach encourages the active involvement of all stakeholders in the design of strategies and action plans to meet these goals.

A step-by-step methodology of this technique in an example of an opportunity, specifically the recruitment of people with disabilities who are the target group of the project is presented below:

1^st Step: The first step is to specify or update the organizational objectives, especially considering the participation of people with disabilities in the workforce. These objectives should be linked to the overall mission and vision of the company, with a focus on promoting diversity and fostering an inclusive work environment.

2^nd Step: The second step entails effectively communicating organizational goals related to hiring people with disabilities to all employees. This would ensure that the entire workforce is aware of the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and understands how it fits in with wider organizational goals.

3^rd Step: At this phase, employees at all different levels are supported to actively contribute to setting their individual goals through brainstorming or team meetings to assist in setting company goals and helping new colleagues with disabilities. By involving people with disabilities and other employees in this process, they gain a sense of ownership and empowerment, which enhances their motivation and commitment.

4^th Step: A crucial element of the goals set in step two is that they must be countable. This allows both employees and managers to monitor the progress of disabled employees and the same people to participate actively in this process. Also, they will know and have assess on how well they are meeting their personal goals, contributing eventually to the overall organizational goals.

5^th Step: The final step entails evaluating the progress of disabled and other employees in relation to the goals that have been set. Honest feedback is provided, highlighting successes and areas for improvement for each employee. In addition, appropriate recognition and rewards are given to encourage them to celebrate their successes and their positive contribution to the organization’s diversity and inclusion efforts.

2.3.5 Opportunity Monitoring & Review Step

The opportunity monitoring and review step is an important part of the positive risk management process for every business sector. This step involves continuous monitoring and evaluation of the implemented opportunity management strategies to ensure their effectiveness and relevance in the dynamic business environment.

The following is a detailed outline of the risk monitoring and review process:

Establish a monitoring and review plan that outlines the frequency, scope, and methodology of the opportunities monitoring and review process.
Identify the opportunity indicators that alert the business owners or HR managers to changes in the corporate environment.
Collect and analyze data on the risk indicators, for example the HR department can arrange meetings with the workforce to identify some factors that affect their performance or accessibility audits on the company building or equipment so that no one is marginalized.
Evaluate the effectiveness of opportunity management strategies: Use the data collected to evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency, and relevance of the implemented opportunity management strategies in addressing identified positive risks.
Identify gaps and weaknesses in the opportunity management process such as inadequate opportunity assessment or treatment strategies and take corrective action.
Take corrective action such as revising risk management strategies, implementing additional opportunity controls, or improving the positive risk management process.

2.4 Alternative employment models

The best way for people with disabilities to work just like everyone else is to have jobs in the regular job market. Many countries, government organizations, groups for people with disabilities, foundations, and other groups have created various plans to make this happen. They work alongside other policies like setting a certain number of jobs for people with disabilities, helping with job placement, and making sure workplaces are suitable. But these plans can have different outcomes and effects, and the quality of jobs can vary. It’s important to also make sure the rights of employees with disabilities are respected.

Sheltered Employment

For people with disabilities, “sheltered employment” is common, but it has issues like lower pay, fewer career opportunities, and a lack of job stability. A new proposal, “Exploring quality jobs in sheltered employment and pathways to the open labour market,” is coming in 2023 to understand and improve this model. The current way often separates people with disabilities and denies them basic work rights. The key, as per the Convention of the Rights of Person with Disabilities (CRPD), is to follow inclusion, respect rights, and transition to regular jobs. Social economy organizations, focusing on social goals and reinvesting allowances, are good examples for a better employment model.

Work Integration and Social Enterprises (WiSEs)

WISEs (Work Integration Social Enterprises) are a special way of helping people in tough situations, especially those with disabilities. These organizations focus on both business and social goals, seeing their social purpose as more important. In some places, only non-profit groups can lead these initiatives. WISEs provide jobs and social support to help employees learn and prepare for regular jobs later on. They use the money they make to continue their social work, but they often need outside support, either from the government or private sources.

Supported Employment

This way of finding jobs pays special attention to helping people with disabilities get ready for regular jobs. Job specialists help them recognize their skills, create a job profile, find suitable jobs, and support them after starting. This process may seem expensive, but it ensures that people with disabilities are fully included in regular jobs. This is successful for both the person and society, both socially and economically.

Work Enclaves

Work enclaves are like supported employment but not as well-known. They give jobs to people with disabilities by combining a protected space with regular jobs. In these “enclaves,” companies provide special support to help people with disabilities do specific tasks in regular job settings. This support includes help, adjustments, and a focus on career growth. It’s like a training period where people have full work rights and get paid. The idea is that this time prepares them to become regular employees in the regular job market later on. But if this transition isn’t planned, and the enclave’s work isn’t closely linked to the main services of the company, so the workers with disabilities don’t interact with others, it can be seen as a form of separation.

Job Design

Job carving or crafting is about making a new job in a business. It can happen either from the employee’s ideas (crafting) or from the employer and experts (carving). This involves changing tasks and workplaces to fit people with disabilities, and both the employee and employer get training for it (European Human Rights Report Issue 7, 2023, n.d.).